Despite the persistent rumor that the franchise was being re-developed as a TV series, “The Expendables” will officially hit the big screen again with its fourth installment in 2017.
Variety reveals that the action ensemble movie is set to start filming next year. The confirmation of the upcoming movie came amid reports that “The Expendables 3” shown last year did not fare well in the box office compared to its predecessors.
Thanks to a sizeable portion of the third film’s total gross taken in by Chinese moviegoers, the fourth installment was greenlit and will be a Chinese investment.
Gamespot reports that Millenium movies and Nu Image in partnership with SSXH Beijing and Max Screen Film Distribution are putting more than $25 million into the production of “The Expendables 4.”
A director for the movie is yet to be confirmed as well as a definite date in 2017 when the movie will be released, but reports confirm that filming will begin next year and that Sylvester Stallone himself has got his hands full on the film.
Reprising Rocky Balboa role
The “Rocky” actor is also set to reprise his famed boxer role, Rocky Balboa, in the upcoming sports drama film, “Creed.” The film is pegged as a spinoff of the “Rocky” film series and stars Stallone and Michael B. Jordan.
Jordan plays Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky’s friend Apollo Creed, who travels to Philadelphia and requests that the elder boxer train him.
Stallone was quoted as saying a few months ago that he wants to put a closure on his iconic roles Rocky and John Rambo so it is possible that both franchises would still get a “Rocky 6” and “Rambo 6” in the near future.
Disappointing box office results
Meanwhile, the disappointing box office performance of “The Expendables 3,” which starred famed action stars Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Mel Gibson among others, led many fans to question if another film will be greenlit for the franchise to continue on.
Reasons for the film’s not leveling to its predecessors were pointed to a combination of piracy and a wrong given rating. Three weeks before it hit theaters last year, “The Expendables 3” leaked on the internet causing a lot of controversies and the studio losing a lot of money.
Also, the film was given a PG-13 rating rather than an R rating, a huge difference compared to the first two films. Reports say that “The Expendables 4” will be another R-rated movie.
In an interview last year, Stallone admitted that the lower rating for the third film was a big mistake. The 69-year-old actor confessed that it was a horrible miscalculation on everyone’s part to aim for a wider audience because in doing such, they had to diminish a lot of elements that the film and the franchise itself is known for.
Despite this, the veteran actor is determined to push through another “The Expendables” movie and promises fans that the mistakes of the third film won’t be happening again with the upcoming sequel.
“The Expendables” and “The Expendables 2,” which came out in 2010 and 2012, respectively, were deemed box office success. The first film earned $274.5 million while the second film grossed $311.9 million. The third film, however, gained only a ‘disappointing’ $206.2 million.
Stallone starred as Barney Ross in the three films and he directed and co-wrote the first film as well. As per Venture Capital Post, the “Rambo” actor has expressed his idea of putting the group into such an unfamiliar territory that creates more suspense and tension for the fourth film.
As for casting news, International Business Times speculates that the original cast consisting of legendary actors are set to reprise their roles while Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Hulk Hogan were reportedly tapped to be the film’s bad guys.
Stallone previously revealed that his first choice for the villain for “The Expendables 4” was Jack Nicholson. Earlier this year, he sent a message through Twitter, what seemed to be an invite for Bollywood star Salman Khan to be part of the franchise.