After a lot of talking and even more rumors, the situation with the upcoming “The Expendables 4” is finally starting to clear up a little bit. The film now has an official schedule, and while this of course doesn’t guarantee that we will not see any delays in its release, it’s a good sign that things are moving forward properly and that we might soon get a little more information about the production.
Currently, the plan is to do the actual shooting throughout 2016, followed by the actual release of the film in 2017. This sounds like a pretty good plan considering all we’ve heard about the film so far, as some fans were worried that they might have to wait a lot longer to get the sequel. On the other hand, others were questioning whether the sequel will get made at all, despite the somewhat frequent communication from behind the scenes.
The big question for most people right now is if the new film is going to be able to fix the problems of the franchise and give it the revival it’s been in such dire need of. Fans most definitely still remember the third installment which got less than favorable reception across the board. Critics and fans alike were somewhat disappointed with the production, and it didn’t perform very well in the box office either.
Because of this, many seem convinced that the new film is going to be a very important entry into the franchise, as if it ends up flopping, that would probably kill the whole franchise altogether. Fans of Stallone have been patient and they know that the director is capable of a lot, but their patience can only go so far and if this film doesn’t live up to everyone’s expectations, this might be the end of the famous franchise. Which would certainly be a shame as it was a very original project with lots of exciting moments.
There have been lots of rumors about Stallone trying to recruit various actors for the new film, and even though some of those attempts have reportedly been less than successful, the important point is that Stallone is still trying and he’s dedicated to the project at this point.
The new film could come with some rather drastic changes to the plot in order to improve its chances of success, as there is a noticeable shift in the public’s opinion regarding the way the franchise has been moving, with many people claiming that something new needs to happen and the whole premise was starting to get a bit stale.
On the other hand, Stallone seems convinced that the key to success lies in going back to the roots of the franchise. The third film made some changes in an attempt to make it more easily accepted by a wider audience, and Stallone was seemingly trying to turn it into a mainstream production. But for many people, its niche status was exactly what made this film so good, as it played to the preferences of a certain group of film fans who like to see specific things on the screen.
Toning down the violence could have been the main problem with the third installment in the franchise, as this was seen as one of the critical components for giving the film more exposure. That ended up backfiring, as fans of the original were disappointed that the formula had changed like that, while others didn’t really appreciate the rest that the film had to offer.