An homage to the thrill-a-minute action movies of the 1980s and '90s, The Expendables 4 is following the release of the previous entry in the franchise as another film packed with ride-or-die excitement and spectacle. Officially titled Expend4bles, the latest film is slated to be the last for legendary actor Sylvester Stallone in his role as Barney Ross. From its cast to the crew to projected release windows, we know quite a few details about this film, with the release date now looming extremely close.
The Expendables 4 will be directed by Scott Waugh, best known for directing the 2012 war film Act of Valor alongside Mike McCoy. Waugh is the replacement for Patrick Hughes, who directed the third installment in The Expendables franchise and is known for the film The Hitman’s Bodyguard and its sequel, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Directors aside, the film’s screenplay was a joint effort between Spenser Cohen —who is also responsible for the film’s story — and Max Adams, who has worked with numerous film production studios throughout her career.
On the side of production, The Expendables 4 is being handled by Lionsgate — also responsible for distribution — Millennium Films and Vértice Cine. The latter studio announced involvement back in August 2020. Following that year, principal photography for the film commenced in September 2021. By October 2021, Sylvester Stallone had announced via social media that he had finished shooting his portion of scenes for the film. Here's everything else we know so far about the movie.
Updated September 20, 2023: This article has been updated by Jessica Peerez with more recent developments about the much-awaited Expend4bles.
Expend4bles: The Plot
Expend4bles will follow Ross and his team as they set out on what is sure to be an adrenaline-inducing, action-packed mission to confront an arms dealer who leads a private army. Intent on stopping the terrorist group who are in possession of nuclear weapons, the team jets off to stop what is referred to as "World War III". It has been confirmed that Stallone will be taking a step back in the film, allowing Jason Statham's Lee Christmas to take on the lead role. Fans have been wondering if this step back and the confirmed reports that this will be Stallone's final Expendables film mean that his character, Barney Ross, will be killed off in the film or announce his retirement from the team.
A trailer for the film was released by Lionsgate in June 2023, followed by a red-band trailer and a clip giving viewers a tiny glimpse into the film in August 2023. If the trailers and clips are anything to go by, Expend4bles will be packed to the brim with violence, guns, bullets, brutal fist fights, and high-risk car chases. The film looks like it will definitely keep in line with what the Expendables films have been known for thus far. The official synopsis for the film also promises that the new additions to the team will be giving "new blood a whole new meaning". The synopsis for the film reads:
"A new generation of stars join the world’s top action stars for an adrenaline-fueled adventure in Expend4bles. Reuniting as the team of elite mercenaries, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone are joined for the first time by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia.
Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning."
Expend4bles: The Cast
The Expendables 4 will feature actors familiar with the franchise and several new faces. There are quite a few fan favorites and familiar faces who will be reprising their roles for the fourth movie. Actors include Expendables veteran Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen, and Randy Couture as Toll Road. A few who will not be returning are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, and Terry Crews.
Related: Expend4bles Producers Want You to Know It's Not a Superhero Movie, ‘We’re Not Marvel’
As for new blood in the franchise, Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body, Transformers franchise) will play Gina, who, by the looks of the trailer, appears to have a somewhat violent romantic relationship with Statham's Lee Christmas. Former boxer and strongman Eddie Hall, Andy García (The Untouchables, Ocean’s Eleven), and rapper Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, will also have roles in the film. Joining them will be Thai martial arts experts Tony Jaa, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio, and Levy Tran. An important and interesting new addition is fight choreographer, stuntman, and martial artist Iko Uwais, who has been cast in the lead villain role.
Expend4bles: A Messy Production
Before finally hitting the track running, Expendables 4 had a pretty messy production cycle, with proposed deadlines not being hit and key cast members leaving the project. The earliest news we’d heard of a fourth Expendables film was back in 2014, with an announced release window of 2018. Creative differences and behind-the-scenes issues were most likely the cause for these previous plans bearing little fruit.
Most noticeably, Stallone exited the film’s production in 2017. Disagreements over the franchise's future and the direction of the fourth film, in particular, were cited as major reasons for the departure. What is interesting to note is that Stallone had expressed interest in bringing Jack Nicholson on board to play the main villain and having Clint Eastwood involved. Whether these were actual goals or merely ideas being thrown around is unclear, but whatever the case may be, neither panned out. It is unknown if these could have contributed to the differences in opinion between Stallone and the rest of the cast and crew, but we cannot completely rule them out.
Related: Sylvester Stallone Reflects on His Career Longevity and Being the 'Last of the Dinosaurs' Among '80s Action Stars
After that rocky period of the film’s production, Stallone announced his return to the series following a vocal cry for him to return (with Arnold Schwarzenegger being among the voices in that crowd). However, as previously mentioned, this film will remain Stallone’s final contribution to the franchise unless future developments arise. This could most likely be attributed to Stallone simply wishing to move on from the films and leave them in Statham's hands. With Stallone now out of the Rocky and Creed franchise, it appears the actor is moving away from many of his iconic roles.
Release Date
Lionsgate had initially planned on a 2022 release date for Expend4bles. However, the film will now make its premiere on September 22, 2023. This marks the first time the franchise has not been released in the summer, as the previous three entries in the series were all released in August. Expend4bles is the only major wide release for the weekend and could take the number one spot at the box office.
