Jason Statham is rolling with the punches in a recent Instagram post on set for the upcoming action-packed Expendables 4. Over the weekend, the actor shared several photos of himself and fellow castmate, Iko Uwais, facing off in the new movie.
The first photo gives us a staged view of Uwais with a furrowed brow, grasping Statham’s collar as Statham looks directly at the camera with an apprehensive look on his face. The next two photos in the series show each of the actors in their own shot facing off with one another.
First, we see Uwais in a crouched stance with hands up ready for a fight. He also has a slight cut on his cheek and if you swipe for the next photo, you’ll get an idea of why. Statham is posed with a fist ready for action in one hand and in the other, a small knife pointed directly at Uwais. We would venture a guess that this is where Uwais’ blood drawing cut has come from.
Uwais isn’t down and out yet, though. The next picture shows us the fight of a lifetime as Uwais has Statham in a chokehold with Statham still clutching his knife. Next, we see what look to be clips from a different scene between the pair, but are nevertheless still filled with action. In fact, the first looks almost like a practice run based on the look behind Uwais’ eyes. We see Statham with two knives and Uwais watching how the Expendables star is moving them as Uwais appears poised to block the blow. In the final action shot, Uwais is delivering an incredibly formed, debilitating kick straight to Statham’s face.
Finally, we see the love between the castmates. In the final two photos, the actors pose together and smile at each other, as well as for the camera with weapons drawn ready for whatever high stakes scene is next. Along with the slew of new photos, Statham wrote in the caption that it was “a real honour to spend some screen time” with Uwais. He goes on to compliment the incredible martial arts professional by saying “A true master of his game and a powerhouse of speed and skills that take a lifetime to achieve. Massive respect for all that you do brother.”
The cast of this newest installment in the Expendables franchise has been hard at work to deliver the high-performance action film that fans expect. Last month, the film’s star, Sylvester Stallone, took to his own Instagram to recap his final day on set saying it was “bittersweet” to be leaving the franchise after all of these years, but also sharing his belief that Statham had it covered. Between the inside look that Stallone treated us to and now this amazing lineup of beautifully shot action photos, fans can rest assured that another great adventure movie is on the way. The Expendables 4 does not yet have a release date. Check out Statham's full post below.