The troubles continue forThe Expendables 4. Recently, it was announced that franchise star and creatorSylvester Stallonedeparted the fourth installment, but the project is reportedly going to be moving ahead without him. If that is indeed the case, thenThe Expendables 4is also going to have to press on withoutArnold Schwarzeneggeras well.
Entertainment Weeklycaught up with the actor, who has been in all three previousExpendables moviesand is good friends withSylvester Stallone. It turns out, ifStalloneisn’t going to be involved,Arnold Schwarzeneggerwants absolutely no part ofThe Expendables 4. Here is what he had to say about it.
“There is no Expendables without Sly. I would never do the movie without him, no.”
WithSylvester Stallone, who directed and co-write the firstExpendables, in addition to co-writing the other two installments, leaving the project was already going to be a lot to overcome. But withArnold Schwarzeneggeralso out, that will take a lot of appeal off the table before things even get moving. EW also reported thatSchwarzeneggerhasn’t even seen a script forExpendables 4yet, though they want to shoot the movie in August. He explained that he wasn’t thrilled with his part inExpendables 3, but ifSlywere back on board and he liked what they wrote, he would return again.
“You know, I think the first and second one were terrific. But, the third one, I thought my part was not written well. It was also not playing well in the movie, as far as I was concerned. Maybe other people believed differently. But I didn’t believe that I had any value in the movie. I love the franchise, by the way. I think it’s a spectacular franchise, The Expendables. I think that Sly has good ideas, what he wants to do with it, and I think if they write a really good script [in] which my part is very well-developed, I would do it. If not, then I won’t do it.”
It doesn’t appear thatSylvester Stallonewill be easily coaxed back to doThe Expendables 4. He reportedly walked away from what would have been a $20 million payday, which is true superstar money. He apparently had disagreements with producerAvi Lerner, which is something that has been going on for quite some time, but finally came to a head this time. Here is whatAvi Lernerhad to say in a statement following the news thatStallonehad walked away from what will be thefinal Expendables movie.
“We’ve got disagreements with Sly, but we’ve had them for over a year and a half. Right now, each one has opinion. We agreed on 95% of things, but there are certain things in production we don’t agree on. I don’t think it’s over, but write whatever you want. In my opinion, it’s not dead.”
While theExpendablesmovies aren’t what you would call critical darlings, especially in the case ofThe Expendables 3, the movies have done well at the box office. To date, the franchise has earned $804 million worldwide, withThe Expendables 2earning the most at $315 million. As of right nowThe Expendables 4is slated to come out in summer 2018 and be thefinal moviein the series, but all of this mess could easily delay, or maybe even scrap those plans entirely. And as yet,no cast membershave been announced. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more details become available.
