Sure, The Expendables 4 doesn't seem to be a "necessary" film, what with The Expendables 3 ending without any kind of cliff-hanger or story that needs to progress. That's not stopping Sylvester Stallone and company, as the film is definitely happening.
In fact, via CinemaBlend we just got word of two new cast members who do not fit the normal bill for what we expect when we think "The Expendables" joining up with the crew. The film, which has been in development limbo since Expendables 3 came out in 2014, has hit some road bumps that made fans seriously question the series' direction.
That was back in 2017, when Stallone was reportedly exiting the project, over issues regarding directors, scripts and the quality of the film. But he came back in 2018, and a slow burn to the sequel coming out began.
The Expendables 4 cast
So, yes, as you may have heard, Megan Fox (Jennifer's Body) and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson (Power) are the latest announced members of The Expendables 4. No word as to their characters, yet.
Lionsgate broke the news in a press release that noted returning Expendables actors so far include Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sylvester Stallone.
All four are part of the core Expendables cast, having been there since the jump. Also joining the cast is Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak).
So, the current cast as we know it so far:
- Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, the leader
- Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, the second-in-command
- Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen
- Randy Couture as Toll Road, the explosives expert
- Tony Jaa in a TBA role
- Megan Fox in a TBA role
- Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in a TBA role
The Expendables 4 pre-production
In an interview on The Jenna Ben Show, co-star Randy Couture explained that the project has been in the works for "a couple of years," and seemed to say he's seen a new version of the script that doesn't exactly match the original script.
That's because he notes "So I haven't seen the script yet. They had one a couple of years ago that they were talking about making Expendables 4 out of," which is a little vague.
The Expendables 4 release date speculation
Couture also noted that The Expendables 4 filming is set for "this next fall," in that same March 2021 interview. We're assuming he meant Fall 2021, and that he didn't mean this fall or next fall, as if some phantom punctuation was in there.
This would make for a possible fall 2022 release, if everything goes right. Covid-19 variants could very possibly shut down production, so we're not betting on anything for sure.
