Having a cast that included Sylvester Stallone (Rambo), Jason Statham (Crank), Jet Li (Hero), Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin (The Condemned), as well as cameos from Bruce Willis (Surrogates), and Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), it came as no surprise that The Expendables was one of the most eagerly anticipated action movies ever released, and shot to number one at the Box Office in numerous countries.
In fact, The Expendables has done so well that writer/director Sylvester Stallone has already begun musing over plans for a sequel; after first discussing the possibility just prior to The Expendables theatrical release; suggesting that he would like Bruce Willis; who played the mysterious Mr Church, who set The Expendables on the explosion laden mission; to be the main villain in the follow-up.
Sly actually said (via his Twitter-feed) that he wants Bruce to be the movie’s “super villain”, and that Bruce himself had suggested (as one Twitter responded did) bringing Steve Austin back as the twin brother of the character he played in the first film; although Sly’s response “do I have to battle that monster again!!!!!!!????”, doesn’t make it sound like he’s especially keen to get into another brawl with the ex-wrestler that landed him in hospital, and gave him a metal plate in his neck, last time.
He’s also been musing over locations, and has been looking for “the most dangerous place in the world” to put the gang of mercenaries, although still hasn’t confirmed any plot details; as he has previously stated that making a sequel “isn’t easy”, and that in order to make it work “you need the element of surprise”; but insists that not only has he got an idea “ready to go” but that he’s planning on doing “something quite radical with it.”
In the meantime, he’s been toiling away on producing content for the Blu-ray and DVD release of The Expendables; having recently finished recording the director’s commentary (which in his opinion “turned out great”), and finishing off the huge documentary Inferno: The Making of The Expendables (which is apparently “hard core” and has “everybody on it”, and even includes the Sly vs Austin fight that injured the Rocky star, and footage of the resulting trip to the hospital).
As well as that, Stallone has been working on a director’s cut of the movie; which he estimates will be ready for release in “about six months”; meaning it probably won’t make it onto the first batch of DVD’s to be released, unlike the documentary, which should be ready to ship straight away.
As of yet there’s still no word on when the first editions of The Expendables Blu-ray’s and DVD’s will be hitting shelves, however the film is still going strong, and can still be seen playing at cinemas around the country.
Read our full review of the movie online here.
Or click here to view the official trailer.
