I want a good female Expendables movie.  If The Expendables movies are built on nothing but fan-casting (and let's be honest: they are), then there's no reason it can't be done with the many women who have excelled in action films.  However, context is incredibly important, and the plot for Robert Luketic's planned "The Expendabelles", might be disturbingly insulting.  According to a Deadline report from February, the story has a promising start with the main cast being a group of elite mercenaries brought into rescue a nuclear scientist.  Here's where it could get really, really bad: "The only way in: some of the world’s deadliest female operatives must pose as high-class call-girls shipped in by private plane to satisfy a dictator–and instead save the scientist and the day."  That's right: Luketic and writers Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah might have considered a plot that has female ass-kickers going undercover as whores.  Very empowering.

At the recent press day for The Expendables 3, producer Avi Lerner provided an update on the upcoming spin-off.  Hit the jump for more.

Here's what Lerner had to say about The Expendabelles:

We are working on the script.  We've got lots of ideas about who's going to be the action movie star.  We plan to start shooting at the beginning of next year.  And that's all I can say about this movie right now.

If they're still working on the script, then I pray they've dropped the "high-class call-girls" part.  To be clear, Millennium Films provided an updated logline:

"The Expendables universe has a new team. An elite group of highly trained female mercenaries are brought together for a covert hostage rescue mission. Once they are behind enemy lines, the women discover that they will also need to topple an evil dictator bent on world domination. It becomes clear there is no such thing as the right man for the job. The Expendabelles is the ultimate story of female empowerment and kick-ass teamwork."

They could still go with the "high class call-girls" angle (there's the "no right man for the job" sentence), which would be terrible, and frankly, unnecessary.  The movie doesn't need an exceedingly complex plot, but why should it be predicated on anything different than what The Expendables movies have done?

Additionally, if they're still mulling over the casting, then I hope it's not just a group of fresh faces.  The cast should definitely include this generation's actresses who have proven their mettle: Katee Sackhoff, Tatiana Maslany, Zoe Bell, and Michelle Rodriguez to name a few.  But what's essential is the willingness to include veteran action stars: Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton, Lucy Lawless, and Uma Thurman (again, just to name a few).  Also, if you need an A-list anchor, then Angelina Jolie would be the obviously be the top choice.

Hey, fan-casting is fun.  If you were putting together a female Expendables movie, who would you cast?