The Expendables film franchise has an ensemble cast and despite lukewarm reviews, has had a sizeable box-office collection for each of the three films in the franchise. The first film released in 2010, the second came out in 2012 and the third one in 2014. So when in March of 2014, Pierce Brosnan stated that he had agreed to star in the fourth Expendables film, fans were nothing but excited. It has been six years since The Expendables 3 came out and no fourth film to account for. However, a positive news came out in August 2020 when a Spanish distribution company called Vértice Cine announced The Expendables 4 as one of their upcoming projects. They are working together with Lionsgate and Millenium Films for the fourth film in the action-thriller franchise.
Cast of The Expendables 4
There were several hiccups in the making of The Expendables 4 due to disagreements among the cast. In March 2017, it was announced that Sylvester Stallone won’t be returning for the fourth film due to disagreements regarding the script. Following that, supporting actor Arnold Schwarzenegger also said that he won’t be part of the film if Stallone isn’t in it. Other cast members Ji Chang-wook and Tony Jaa also followed suit, saying that they won’t return for a fourth film if Stallone isn’t a part of it. However, the issues were resolved by the end of the year. In January 2018, Sylvester Stallone announced on his social media that he will be returning to the franchise. Randy Couture will also be part of The Expendables 4.
After the August 2020 announcement by Vértice Cine, it was also announced that Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas and Dolph Lundgren will also be part of the fourth film. Patrick Hughes will be returning as director, and the film will retain its R-rating.
Release Date of The Expendables 4
The script for the film is supposedly completed, but no official release date has been set for The Expendables 4 as of now. It is expected that the film will release after the spin-off film, The Expendables: A Christmas Story comes out in 2021.