The cast for the fourth Expendables movie is finally coming together, the first film in the action-star packed series since 2014's The Expendables 3. The Hollywood Reporter says that Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lungren, and Randy Couture, who have appeared in the first three films, will be returning for the fourth installment. Also new to the franchise are Tony Jaa, Megan Fox, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. This latest Expendables film will be directed by Scott Waugh, who directed 2012's Act of Valor and 2014's Need for Speed. Production for the next Expendables is scheduled to begin in October.
While The Expendables franchise has primarily been about bringing back great action stars of the 80s and 90s, and uniting them together into one gigantic action film, it sounds like this newest installment will focus on the young guns. According to THR, Statham will be the primary star of this fourth film, while Fox will be the female lead. Jeffrey Greenstein, the Rresident of Millennium Media, said of the announcement: “The Expendables are back, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring this star studded, action packed film to the big screen with Lionsgate, who have been with us since the inception of this franchise. To keep it fresh and fun, we’ve added exciting new stars to join the veterans; popcorn entertainment is guaranteed,” said Jeffrey Greenstein, Millennium Media President.
Rumors of a fourth Expendables has been going for years, but Stallone hinted earlier this month that he was returning to the franchise, despite past claims that he was leaving the series. Previous films in the series have included such big names as Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Wesley Snipes, and more. While today's announcement already pulls together an exciting crew for this next Expendables, it seems likely this could be just the beginning of the cast announcements for Expendables 4.
Even though The Expendables 4 will start filming this fall, it's unclear when we can expect to see these action stars on the big screen.