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.