Earlier this week, we heard Donnie Yen was offered a role in The Expendables 2. Yen is a talented action star, so the news item is self-explanatory. Yet there was additional motivation for Nu Image and Millennium to reach out to Yen. Variety reports the studios are in talks with an unspecified Chinese distributor to co-produce the sequel. The deal hangs on the condition that a local actor must be cast to boost the movie's prospect at the Chinese box office. If the deal is made, the Expendables would head to China for a number of scenes.
Shooting is scheduled to start in Bulgaria in September, directed by Simon West (The Mechanic). I think it'd be cool to see add martial arts to the sequel. But since we're so close to filming, I am curious if the hypothetical China scenes are additions to the script specific to the country, or a reworking of current material. Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis alongside rumor additions John Travolta, Chuck Norris, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Expendables is scheduled for release on August 17, 2012.