Despite being the driving force behind last year’s smash hit action movie, The Expendables; by not only starring in the movie, but directing and writing as well; it appears as though Sylvester Stallone will be downsizing his numerous roles in the next movie, and even giving up his director’s chair.
Whilst nothing has been confirmed at this point, a recent report from The L.A. Times (who quoted an unnamed source close to The Expendables 2) stated that while Sly Stallone remains heavily involved with The Expendables (and has been regularly talking with fans, and discussing possible ideas for the sequel), he has already begun meeting with other directors; with a view to finding his successor; and will be settling for only a starring and producing role in the new movie.
Stallone’s also becoming less involved with the writing this time around; as whilst he co-wrote the script to the first film, the sequel’s screenplay has been written by David Agosto (Big Canyon) and Ken Kaufman (Space Cowboys); and while we’ve had a number of musings from Stallone himself, suggesting possible future cast members, locations, and events, there’s no official word on the dangerous mission The Expendables will find themselves on next time.
A number of new cast members have been suggested; including a number of UFC stars, Dwayne Johnson (Faster), Jean Claude Van Damme (Timecop), and others; but one of the most recurring themes seemed to be the idea of increasing the cameo role that Bruce Willis (Die Hard) had in the first film; to see him become the next “super villain”; and possibly include Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator) further; as he also cameoed in the first film, has a lot more free time now his Governorship of California has officially ended, and is finally considering new acting projects.
So while nothing has been officially confirmed (officials at developer Millennium Films declined to comment on the reports), no director has been confirmed to have been hired, and the fact that there’s still a great deal of time before a sequel can be produced (as Sly’s will soon be busy with other acting commitments), it appears as though The Expendables could end up having a very different look and tone to the first film.
Matt Wheeldon.
Source: The L.A. Times
