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Action stars never say die, they just reload.
Lionsgate and Millennium Media are bringing back their gun-toting, testosterone-throbbing action franchise The Expendables for another go-around.
Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sylvester Stallone, who have appeared in the previous three installments, are set to reprise their roles for what will be the fourth movie.
Joining the quartet are Curtis “50” Jackson, Megan Fox and Tony Jaa for a feature to be directed by stuntman-turned-helmer Scott Waugh (Need for Speed), with production to begin October.
Spenser Cohen wrote the script with revisions by Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly. Details are being kept in the lockbox but it once again will focus on a group of veteran mercenaries. And while the initial movies that were released in the early 2010s had Stallone as the focal point, sources say in this outing Statham will be the one with the biggest gun. Fox is the female lead.
Statham is also producing along with Kevin King Templeton as well as Millennium’s Les Weldon, Yariv Lerner, Jeffrey Greenstein and Jonathan Yunger.
“It’s so much fun to bring these stars together for a no-holds-barred action film,” said Jason Constantine, president of acquisitions and co-productions for the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in a statement. “The new film will raise the stakes and be the biggest, most badass adventure yet.”
“Popcorn entertainment is guaranteed,” said Millennium president, Jeffrey Greenstein, noting that the new additions to the roll call were meant to “keep it fresh and fun.”
Stallone directed the first movie and wrote the script with David Callaham, now one of the big action scribes in the comic book realm, focusing on characters with names such as Lee Christmas (Statham), Gunner Jensen (Lundgren) and Toll Road (Couture). The initial movie, released in 2010, gathered up the biggest names in action movies from the 1980s — Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger –—and paired them with wrestling stars, international martial arts stars and newer action stars. It was a formula that worked, with the three movies (the others hit theaters in 2012 and 2014) generating more than $829 million worldwide. A sequel had been in the works since the mid-2010s but hard targets proved to be elusive, with changing writers and directors.
Executive producing for Millennium are Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson and Trevor Short with Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman on behalf of Campbell Grobman Films. Co-producing is Abby Mills.
Eda Kowan and Jonah Leach are overseeing the film for Lionsgate.
Statham has appeared in all three Expendables outings and is also a player in the Fast and Furious franchise. He recently starred in action thriller Wrath of Man and is due to reteam with director Guy Ritchie for an untitled thriller. He is repped by Patrick Knapp of GGSSC.
Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, 50 Cent, Megan Fox to Star in New ‘The Expendables’ Movie for Lionsgate (Exclusive)
You want more action stars? You got more action stars. Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Tony Jaa will also show off their fighting moves as the Lionsgate and Millennium action franchise returns.
www.hollywoodreporter.com