The second installment of Sylvester Stallone’s THE EXPENDABLES franchise was released almost exactly a year ago today, and the next installment is set to be released almost exactly one year from now. There’s been some interesting and exciting casting info coming out in the last few weeks, with Bruce Willis departing over (rumored) money issues, and the additions of Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Antonio Banderas to the ensemble. Now we have some “official” info straight from the studio, including a description of the plot. Let’s start with the full cast list, which is as follows:
Sylvester Stallone (of course)
Jason Statham
Jet Li
Dolph Lundgren
Randy Couture
Terry Crews
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Wesley Snipes
Antonio Banderas
Mel Gibson
Harrison Ford
Kellan Lutz
Ronda Rousey
Victor Ortiz
Glen Powell
That’s pretty impressive for any film, but particularly great for an action movie. THE EXPENDABLES 3 is being directed by Patrick Hughes and started production today. Lionsgate also released an official press release outlining what fans can expect from the film:
Lionsgate and Millennium Films will begin principal photography today on THE EXPENDABLES 3, the third installment of THE EXPENDABLES action-thriller franchise, with production shooting on location in Bulgaria and at Nu Boyana Studios in Sofia.
THE EXPENDABLES 3 will feature Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to their roles in the first two films with Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford joining the all-star cast along with Kellan Lutz, MMA star Ronda Rousey, welterweight boxing champion Victor Ortiz and Glen Powell.
Patrick Hughes (RED HILL) will direct the film, with veteran Dan Bradley (The BOURNE franchise; MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, QUANTUM OF SOLACE) directing the second unit. THE EXPENDABLES 3 is written by Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt, who previously teamed on OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, and Sylvester Stallone. Avi Lerner, Kevin King-Templeton, Danny Lerner and Les Weldon are producing THE EXPENDABLES 3. Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson and John Thompson are executive producing. Lionsgate will release THE EXPENDABLES 3 in North America and the UK on August 15, 2014.
In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
The production will be overseen by Lionsgate’s Jason Constantine and Eda Kowan.
The first two installments of THE EXPENDABLES have grossed nearly $600 million in combined global box office.