It’s been 10 years since the world was introduced to The Expendables, an eye-catching ensemble of veteran action stars attempting to rekindle the B-movie thrills of their younger years. Dolph Lundgren, who has featured in all three Expendables to date, has now taken to Instagram to commemorate the anniversary, while also paying tribute to his co-star Sylvester Stallone.
In his caption, Lundgren references his long absence from the big screen, as The Expendables was the first time he had starred in a theatrical release for 25 years. It was Stallone who wrote the part of Gunnar Jensen with him in mind, a gesture that convinced him to return.
On August 13th, ten years ago, the younger generation around the world got their first taste of old school hardcore action mayhem in The Expendables,” said the actor. “It was also a long awaited return for me to the big screen thanks to my old buddy @officialslystallone.
Despite big initial success, the franchise receded from public consciousness as the last decade wore on. There hasn’t been an Expendables movie since 2014, with the still-unmade Expendables 4 slowly sinking into development hell. Perhaps there was a degree of over-saturation from the pensioner’s action genre (geriaction for short), which seemed to inhabit all corners of multiplex listings at the time. That and its increasingly outsized budgets delimiting realistic profits for the studio. Cast lists like that don’t come cheap, after all.
For those looking for good news on the future of The Expendables, prospects for the next sequel have been shining a little brighter recently. Earlier this year, Randy Couture said he’d received a completed script, though at that point production had yet to be green-lit.
With a more modest budget and the benefit of distance making fresh what was once not though, there’s no reason why The Expendables 4 can’t be viable. If Sly can get five movies out of Rambo, you can be damn sure he’ll find a way to get a fourth out of this.