As early as November last year, when Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger personally visited Manny Pacquiao in his dressing room in Macau, China before his fight with American Chris Algieri, reports have been circulating wildly that the Filipino boxing icon is being considered for a role in “The Expendables 4.”
Pacquiao, after all, is a bit actor in the Philippines and can sure do some acting on a Hollywood movie if he chooses to.
It was clear then that Sylvester Stallone, who was the lead star and co-screenplay writer on all of the three “The Expendables” films, is already looking at giving the fourth installment of the ensemble action movie series a great possibility.
Latest reports have it that in addition to Manny Pacquiao, Asian martial arts superstar Jackie Chan is being considered too as well as former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, and WWE wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, reports Venture Capital Post.
Although at this point, none from Pacquiao, Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan or Hulk Hogan has made any statement to confirm or deny those initial casting reports. But it definitely caused some stir and excitement for the fans of the franchise.
Redemption and new strategy
“The Expendables 3” shown last year made a worldwide box-office haul of $206.2 million from a production budget of $90 million. It actually became the least successful of the three “The Expendables” film.
“The Expendables” released in 2010 made $274.5 million in the global box-office from a production budget of $80 million. “The Expendables 2,” on the other hand, made the best killing at the tills in 2012, raking in $311.9 million from a production cost of $100 million.
Obviously, Stallone and the producers would like nothing more than a redemption for “The Expendables 4” and if it is true that the movie has indeed issued the casting calls for the four big name additions to its ensemble, then it is likely that the franchise is on its way to its goal, if not, possibly the biggest earning film in the franchise.
Jackie Chan is still a big name superstar in Asia and Pierce Brosnan still has some sentimental fans going for him. Of course, there is no doubt that Manny Pacquiao would be the biggest draw, followed only by the Hulkster, who has a cult following of his own from wrestling sports entertainment.
In addition to new actors who shall join the ensemble for “The Expendables 4,” there are also reports that a spin-off TV series will come out after the fourth movie where action stars from various genre will be guesting in every episode to ensure that it will sustain fan interest.
However, many TV analysts believe that given most of the ages of the action stars in “The Expendables” series, a TV show would be too taxing for most of them that it would not be viable for the long term. Regardless however, the fans are now very excited for the next “The Expendables” offering coming their way, whether it would be on the theater or on the small screen.