The fourth installment of the action ensemble “The Expendables” franchise is still shrouded in secrecy at this juncture but it is likely that filming for the movie is already underway in China, some critics and fans believe.
China has been chosen as the location for “The Expendables 4” because a great portion of the production budget shall come from a Chinese interest, who decided to invest in the movie after “The Expendables 3” became a big box-office hit in China.
In fact, if not for the Chinese market, “The Expendables 3” would have been a box-office disaster because a soft copy of the movie was leaked and made it online days before its official release date to global theaters in 2014.
The producers and the major cast members of the franchise have apparently learned their lesson from the debacle of “The Expendables 3” so they have decided to put everything under the radar including casting, storyline, and production details.
As a result, most of the reports about the movie are based on fan speculations, including the rumors that Sylvester Stallone shall no longer be part of “The Expendables 4,” which seems unlikely since the franchise is Sly’s baby and it is almost next to impossible that the film would roll without him on it.
Focusing on movies to show his acting depth
It was actually actor Terry Crews who hinted in an interview that Stallone would be willing to take a backseat in “The Expendables 4” after he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor both in the Golden Globes and in the Oscars early this year for his acting in the “Rocky” spinoff film, “Creed” released in November last year.
Crews said that he would be willing to accept whatever the decision of Stallone would be including easing himself out of the movie if that is the wishes of the “Rambo” actor.
He also cited that Stallone was quite amazing as an actor in “Creed” because he showed his depth so he would not be surprised if the “Rocky” actor opts to do more of such movies than focus on action films.
Terry Crews added that Stallone is actually a lot deeper as an actor than people always give him credit for, notes Yibada.
Pushing for an R rating
As if to debunk rumors that he will not be part of the fourth movie of the action ensemble film franchise “The Expendables,” Sylvester Stallone recently came out to confirm previous reports that “The Expendables 4” shall have an R rating.
The third movie of the franchise got a PG-13 rating when it came out in 2014, which contributed to its less-than-expected performance at the box office.
However, the main culprit for the disappointing results of “The Expendables 3” in terms of ticket sales is the fact that a pirated version of the movie already leaked online even before it hit the theaters.
The 70-year-old veteran Hollywood action star also said that “The Expendables 4” will be darker and full of bloody action, which is something they were not able to do with a washed down and tamed PG-13 rating in “The Expendables 3.”
Incidentally, a previous report came out saying that Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger had been shopping for cast members of “The Expendables 4” as early as 2014.
According to rumors, the duo has already considered including in the movie the following big name actors including Nicolas Cage, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis again, and many others. But none of them seemed to have been confirmed.
Eventually, the casting reports said that “The Expendables 4” would feature three wrestlers for villains including Hulk Hogan, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Then there are also reports that Pierce Brosnan, John Cusack, and Steven Seagal shall be joining the team of mercenaries led by Stallone’s Barney Ross and Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas.