The second film may not even be out yet, but since when has that ever stopped a studio before from making some bold claims about a sequel. In this case, it’s producer Avi Lerner who’s spilled the beans on which other saddlebags with eyes veteran action heroes would be tempted off their prune juice long enough to blow stuff up with Sylvester Stallone and friends in Expendables 3.
And while the current Expendables line-up is known more for their muscles than their thespian abilities, they’re looking to change all that by approaching a couple of really talented actors. Oh and Nicolas Cage.
Speaking to Total Film, Lerner revealed their plans to bring in a couple of old-school Hollywood heavyweights, as well as getting another to reprise his role:
“We’ve approached Clint Eastwood to be one of the guys, we’ve got a character in mind for him. We’re talking to Harrison Ford. [And we want] Wesley Snipes when he comes back from prison. I’ll give you one more name, we’ve got Nicolas Cage to play [one of the characters].”
“And we’re going to bring Mickey Rourke back, if he won’t be too crazy. I like Mickey. And of course, all the existing stars [will return]”
While I have my doubts that either Eastwood or Ford would accept the offers, especially since Eastwood appears to have resigned himself to playing nothing but the grumpy old man in human dramas these days, you can pretty much guarantee that Cage and Snipes would be all over this. Snipes, once his stint in the pen for tax evasion is up, will probably be desperate for the attention of anybody that isn’t named Bubba, and Cage has already proved countless times that he’s willing to act in pretty much anything as long as there’s a paycheck attached to it (I’m still eagerly waiting for Space Ass and Schindler’s Fist).
Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to Bleeding Cool about where they could possibly take the franchise next, and also how they weren’t ruling out any oddball team choices, with Stallone even going so far as to mention Olympic gold medalist boxer Katie Taylor:
“We are thinking about different concepts because the third one is the hardest by far. The second is the natural progression. That is when the air gets rare.
We are thinking pretty ambitiously about it. She [Katie Taylor] would fit right in there. We are looking at odd choices because you now have to give the audiences something they don’t expect at all. Maybe even going for a different sort of genre if you can read between the lines. Get out there a little bit.
“Maybe ripoff one of your [Schwarzenegger’s] other films.”
I swear, if Expendables 3 has Jason Statham travelling back in time to protect Sylvester Stallone’s mother from fellow time traveller Arnie, I might just simultaneously lose my mind as well as my last bit of faith in the world.
Last Updated: August 14, 2012
