Contrary to reports before the 2016 Academy Awards last month that Sylvester Stallone would opt out of the limelight in the fourth installment of the action ensemble film franchise “The Expendables” if he wins the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, the 69-year-old veteran action star would unconditionally return to the film series.
The rumors about Stallone not returning for “The Expendables 4” came out because the information about the movie was few and far in between. At that point, Stallone was making the headlines because of his nomination from the Academy Awards.
So putting two in two together, some came out with the idea that if he wins the Oscars, he would then focus more on “Creed 2” rather than “The Expendables 4,” thus the reports saying that he would take a backseat in the action ensemble franchise.
Not complete without him
However, action movie critics believe that those are hallowed rumors because they know that even Sylvester Stallone is aware that if his character is not in the movie, The Expendables as a band of mercenaries shall no longer be complete.
The last three films saw Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, backstopped by Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, as the obvious leaders of The Expendables. While there are plenty of big-name action stars in the movie, it is obvious that Sly calls the shots and that is likely to remain in “The Expendables 4,” note the critics.
“The Expendables” movie franchise is Stallone’s baby and he took the effort to bring other action stars onboard as the series continued and that is why it has become a great action franchise that it is now.
Despite the not-so-good performance of “The Expendables 3” in the box-office when it hit theaters in 2014, the main reason for it was that a pirated version of the film came out before it officially hit theaters thus causing a negative impact on the movie’s ticket sales.
According to a source close to the “Rambo” actor, at his age, Sylvester Stallone has done it all as an actor and action star so he just wants to make movies that people could remember him by. An award or two are just bonuses because for him, the important thing now is to be able to make people enjoy his movies. And he can do that by being in the film and not out of it, the source adds.
The trigger of the rumors
The rumors about Stallone no longer assuming the role of Barney Ross in “The Expendables 4” came as an offshoot of the recent interview of Terry Crews, who plays the role of Hale Caesar in the action film franchise.
Crews was quoted as saying that Stallone might no longer include himself in “The Expendables 4” because he is busy working on “Creed 2.”
The action star who is also good at comedy says that he considers Stallone as his dad so whatever the veteran action star says he needs to do, he will do it. So if Sly says he is out, then he does not see himself doing it at all.
The former football player also said that Stallone has plenty of options at the moment after winning a Golden Globes award early this year and being nominated in the same category in the Academy Awards.
Crews also said that Stallone was really amazing in “Creed” because the movie showed his depth in acting because Sly is a lot deeper than people always give him credit for.
For all those doubting about the movie or the involvement of Stallone on it, Randy Couture has just confirmed through Twitter on March 9 that “The Expendables 4” will begin filming this coming fall, reports the Flickering Myth.
It was actually The Arnold Fans Twitter handle who posted the announcement made by Randy Couture and even tagged Arnold Schwarzenegger in the post.
Other than Couture’s announcement, there has not been any official confirmation from Schwarzenegger and Stallone and the silence about “The Expendables 4” has long prevailed for some months now, notes Yibada.