Sylvester Stallone has developed a strong with his relationship with his fans.  Years ago, he did an ask-me-anything on AICN before AMAs even existed.  He’s willing to critique his past work, and he’s happy to share what’s happening with his latest projects.  Stallone recently took to his Twitter feed to provide some updates on The Expendables 3.  He revealed the return of Mickey Rourke by tweeting, “Mighty Mickey is back…..”.  Then Stallone teased a couple of new additions to the cast.  In December, Jackie Chan said he was on board, and Stallone tweeted yesterday, “What’s the plan? Ask Jackie Chan….”  And now that Wesley Snipes is out of prison, Stallone says, “Talked to WESLEY today … He can not WAIT to fight to the top again !!!!!!! Over…”  I’m sure Wesley Snipes’ stunt double will be glad to hear it.

Hit the jump for what Stallone had to say about The Expendables 3 trying to outdo one of the best action films in years, The Raid.

Marvel finally released the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One box set earlier this week, and included in the collection is a bounty of extras from the studio’s past and future films.  We’ve already shared a collection of images, video, and concept art for a few of the Phase Two films, and today quite a few deleted scenes from The Avengers and Iron Man 2 have surfaced online.  The Avengers scenes are minor bits and pieces that were nipped out of the finished film, but the Iron Man 2 footage is fascinating because it reveals an alternate ending for the film that involves Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash kidnapping Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper.  It’s rather anticlimactic and it’s not hard to see why Jon Favreau went back and reshot the ending that now concludes the final iteration of the film.

Hit the jump to watch the deleted scenes from The Avengers and the alternate ending for Iron Man 2. [Update: We've added the "And Then Shawarma After" featurette after the jump, which takes a brief look behind the scenes of the Avengers tag.]

It appears that Nicolas Cage has forgotten how to use the word “no.”  The actor has signed on to a large number of projects as of late, including a reboot of the Evangelical Christian series Left Behind.  He’s now adding another project to his slate, though this one is more in line with the fun Nic Cage of the 1990s.  We learned back in August that producers were trying to rope in some high profile names for the invetiable action sequel The Expendables 3, and Cage was on said wish list.  Now Sylvester Stallone has revealed a bit about the confirmed follow-up, stating that Cage is indeed onboard.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say. [Update: A new report indicates that Cage is not actually signed on.  Hit the jump for further explanation.]

The first trailer for the shoot-em-up Western Dead in Tombstone has landed online.  The film stars Danny Trejo as the leader of a gang of outlaws who frees his half-brother (Anthony Michael Hall) from prison in order to loot a mining town. The plan backfires when Hall double crosses Trejo and kills him. Trejo makes a deal with the devil (Mickey Rourke) and comes back from the dead to seek revenge.  The trailer gives us exactly the kind of movie we expect, but I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.  It doesn’t look good by any means, but Dead in Tombstone seems like it could be a fun entry in the “bad movie marathon” genre.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Roel Reine (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption), the film also stars Dina Meyer.  Dead in Tombstone will be released direct-to-DVD on December 31st.

Merely a few weeks out from the start of filming, production has been halted on the revenge drama Motor City.  The film, from director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli), has had a rather rocky development, with a number of actors (Dominic Cooper, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Renner) flirting with the lead only to subsequently drop out.  Gerard Butler was finally set in the starring role of a felon who, after being released from prison, begins tracking down the men who framed him, with Adrien Brody onboard as the villain and Mickey Rourke in a supporting role.  Filming was set to commence on September 17th, but the crew has now been told to go home due to some complex issues that have arisen behind the scenes.  Hit the jump for more details.

I haven’t seen The Expendables 2 yet, but the biggest selling point for the sequel and the original is the cast.  If you were an action movie star, then The Expendables franchise wants you to pick up a gun and blow shit up.  According to Producer Avi Lerner, they’ve already got Nicolas Cage signed up to do just that in The Expendables 3.  It’s worth noting that The Expendables 3 isn’t a done deal.  Lionsgate hasn’t given the third film a greenlight, but the studio will most likely continue the franchise if the upcoming sequel dominates the box office this weekend (and it probably will).

Cage is the latest addition to the cast (all of which are slated to return, according to Lerner), but he may not be the only big name to join the series.  Hit the jump for more.

Back in April, director Robert Rodriguez said Mickey Rourke was on board to reprise his role as Marv, the murderous brawler with a heart of gold, for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.  Speaking to MTV, Rodriguez commented “[Rourke is] all excited to come back, but he’s probably the first one.”  Then in May, Dimension Films sent out a press release stating that Rourke and Jessica Alba were both set to return. However, according to Deadline, Rourke is only now entering talks for the upcoming prequel.  Marv is one of Rourke’s better performances, and I’m eager to see him reprise the role even though it won’t be a lead performance this time around.

Hit the jump for the synopsis of Frank Miller’s graphic novel.  Rodriguez is currently at work on Machete Kills, but once he’s finished with that film, he’s planning to immediately start work on A Dame to Kill For.  As for Rourke, yesterday he signed on to co-star in Albert Hughes’ upcoming crime drama, Motor City.

Some macho Monday casting news for you today.  Here it is in brief:

• Joe Manganiello (True Blood) is in talks to join Arnold Schwarzenegger in Breacher, formerly titled Ten, an action thriller from director David Ayer (Street Kings).
• Patrick St. Esprit (Super 8) has joined director Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: Catching FIre, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.
• Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) has been cast in Albert Hughes’ crime drama, Motor City, opposite Gerard Butler.

Hit the jump for more on each of these projects.

Dimension Films has set the release date for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.  In a press release, the studio announced that Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller‘s sequel to Sin City will open in 3D on October 4, 2013.  The press release also confirms that Mickey Rourke will return to play Marv (because A Dame to Kill For is really more a prequel than a sequel), and adds that Jessica Alba will reprise her role as Nancy Callahan.  We previously reported that Rosario Dawson would be returning at Gail, but the press release makes no mention of the actress.  Rodriguez and Miller co-wrote the screenplay with Oscar-winning screenwriter Willliam Monahan (The Departed).  Dimension says, “The script and details of the film’s story are being kept tightly under wraps,” but you can find a synopsis for Miller’s graphic novel after the jump.

Currently, the only other film set to be released on October 4, 2013 is Henry Selick‘s untitled animated film.

Last week, we reported that Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller‘s Sin City 2 had finally secured financing, and that filming was due to take place this summer.  The sequel, officially titled Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, has now lined up its first two actors by bringing back Sin City stars Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson.  Since A Dame to Kill For is actually a prequel, it allows room to bring back popular tough guy, Marv (Rourke), and prostitute dominatrix, Gail (Dawson).

Hit the jump for more.

Tarsem Singh directed Immortals, which is readily apparent from the first few seconds. There are few directors working today with such a distinct visual style, and that can be commended – to some extent. What he doesn’t have is a good grasp on how to build a narrative, and so his films play better as an instillation pieces. His movies are filled with pretty images, but they don’t really build a greater narrative. With Immortals he’s got the story of the Greek gods, with humans Theseus (Henry Cavill) facing up against Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), while the gods (Luke Evans, Isabella Lucas, Kellan Lutz) watch and decide if they risk helping mortals. Our review of the Blu-ray of Immortals follows after the jump.

A trio of unlikely stars is set to topline the actioner Dead in Tombstone. Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo and Anthony Michael Hall aren’t exactly the first three names one would think to team up for an action adventure, but Deadline reports that the three are set to star in the action pic from director Roel Reine (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption). Trejo plays the leader of a gang of outlaws who frees his half-brother (Hall) from prison in order to loot a mining town. The plan backfires when Hall double crosses Trejo and kills him. Trejo makes a deal with the devil (Rourke) and comes back from the dead to seek revenge. In essence, they fucked with the wrong zombie.

Production on Dead in Tombstone begins next week. Given Reine’s pedigree, I expect we’re in for some B-level entertainment. If they don’t play things too straight and have fun with the premise, I think Dead in Tombstone could be a good time. Really, who doesn’t want to see Zombie Danny Trejo go nuts on Anthony Michael Hall and an entire town?

When The Expendables dropped last year, many felt that—while Sylvester Stallone’s heart was in the right placed—the film failed to live up to expectations (there’s also a strong, vocal minority that love the film, and we should all just go ahead and assume now that they’re going to take issue with this statement).  Surprisingly enough, one of these people seems to be…Sylvester Stallone, who introduces the new Director’s Cut of The Expendables by saying, “I liked the theatrical version, but I love this (version)”.  Have improvements been made?  Is the film really and truly better?  And how can one tell, if one immediately forgot the first film almost as soon as they’d seen it?  Find out in my review of The Expendables: Director’s Cut, after the jump.

“The director is God.”  It’s a saying that has been applied to directors of both stage and screen.  Directors (theoretically) control every aspect of a production and they marshal armies of various departments to bring forth a vision.  Director Tarsem Singh took the saying as the subtext for his new movie, Immortals.  Singh has always been an indulgent visual stylist, but with Immortals, he has bent a script to create a shining tribute to his own genius.  On the page, the movie is a standard “Hero from humble beginnings”, but in the hands of Singh, it becomes lush, outlandish, baffling, and above all, vainglorious.

At this point, it’s going to be very tough for the cast of In Bruges director Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths to get any better. He’s already got Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken lined up, and now Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) have joined the line-up. Farrell stars as a screenwriter struggling with his latest script, titled Seven Psychopaths, who gets roped into a dog-napping job by his friends (Rockwell and Walken). Things take a turn when the beloved Shih Tzu of a psychopathic gangster goes missing, and the trio find themselves on the run.

Mickey Rourke was originally in talks to play the gangster, but recently turned the gig down (calling director McDonagh “a jerkoff” in the process). Harrelson will take on the role of the gangster, which pairied with the casting of Waits makes for a big step up from Rourke in my book. I loved the hell out of In Bruges and I’m anxiously looking forward to the writer-director’s follow up, especially given the fantastic cast he’s put together. Hit the jump to read the full synopsis for the film. [Update: We've been sent the full press release for the casting announcement, which is now included after the jump.]