Let’s Consider A Potential Expendables TV Cast

Well it looks like they’re going ahead with an Expendables TV series, or to be a bit more accurate, ‘live event series’, which I suppose sounds more expensive.  I was going to do a Top Five breakdown of who should or could be in it, but I can’t really see too many men standing out more than the next.  Even though The Expendables 3 was shit and this is supposedly going to continue the ‘fun’ theme, this is still kind of interesting by itself.  So let’s run down and discuss potential candidates from TV land.

Ron Perlman

I know plenty of people are going to have different ideas in their head about who, if anyone, should be cast in this series.  My picks are going to follow a ‘serious’ route, in vein of the first movie.  So to that end the first name that pops into my head is Ron Perlman.  A good example on his TV resume is Sons of Anarchy.  To me, that series really hit the skids when he left it.  The first three series were best, but when the focus left him, it was rough going.

Perlman has even said he’d be willing to appear in The Expendables series, at least in movie format.  He’d be good for the series and I’m not even talking as a villain. Idea: To establish him as chief shit have him dismiss an established name from the movies in the pilot, this would suggest that the series is no mere knock off.  Barney Ross would be best.  Not abject humiliation, but something strong to start off with.

Dirk Benedict

Alright, let’s get some retro names going here.  Some people refer back to the A-Team, which is an obvious inspiration for such a series.  And they usually suggest Mr. T. While Mr. T was no doubt a prominent player in action television, to me there’s something cheesy and goofy about him.  I’d object to Mr. T appearing in this series for the same reason I’d object to Hulk Hogan appearing in the movies.  Both men are borderline clowns.  But I could be more easily persuaded by Dirk Benedict.

To me, the man had talent and it was a shame that his career didn’t move too far beyond The A-Team.  Dirk is a staunch conservative and laments often how feminized TV has become, so perhaps like Mel Gibson, his views have been a roadblock to higher success.  But even if Stallone screws these films up, at least Stallone really doesn’t give a fuck about what anyone says when it comes to casting.  The A-Team were the original Expendables, so it seems kinda wrong to leave at least one of them out for a TV series like this.

Maybe it’s time to let old Templeton outta the stockade?

Michael Chiklis

Continuing with the ‘serious’ vibe here, I’d also suggest Michael Chiklis, of ‘The Shield’ fame.  We need some grit in this kind of thing, not goof ball humour that’s trying to chase The Avengers, badly.  Chiklis fits the bill.  And again I wouldn’t even cast him as a villain, but I’m not necessarily sure about putting him in the leadership spot either.

Chiklis has done other action work too, so he’s no stranger to the genre.  I would consider writing Chiklis as something along the lines as an ex cop, they don’t have to be military necessarily.  Maybe a bent cop.  These don’t have to be good guys!  They’re mercenaries, grey is their favourite colour.

Jim Caviezel

Jim Caviezel is another potential candidate.  An incredible actor, you don’t really need to explain what he might bring to the table.  But he has also dipped successfully into television recently with ‘Person of Interest’, that innovative espionage style series.

But what role for Caviezel?  And would he agree?  He probably wouldn’t agree, not after the damage done to the series by Stallone and Avi Lerner – and make no mistake, it was them who did it, not people reporting on it!  Anyway, I think Caviezel would probably fill in any role asked of him.  He’s a pretty versatile actor and if for no other reason, casting him would signal the intention of not insulting viewers.

Philip Winchester

I think someone said recently in the comments section, probably quite correctly, why would anyone watch a ‘fun’ goof ball Expendables TV series when you can watch the real thing in ‘Strike Back’?  Good point, hard to argue against that.

A good move though might be to simply use some of the talent from that show.  Philip Winchester is not only a good candidate but probably the guy to beat, so why not go ahead and cast him in this series?  I’d recommend watching Strike Back by the way, I myself am also guilty of giving it a chance late in the day.  But it’s still there to be enjoyed if you’ve missed it.

Don Johnson

Back down the retro lane here, why not Don Johnson? Johnson is famous for, of course, his role in the original Miami Vice.  But let’s not forget Nash Bridges (which by the way had some Steve Austin/Dan Paine cameos) in the 1990s.

I like Johnson a lot, his role in the recent and brilliant Cold in July was supremely manly.  For this series, go ask him, see what he says.  I’m sure he’d give it a chance, if it wasn’t shit.  A good actor with action TV pedigree who I wouldn’t mind seeing filling in as a villain.  Hell, Johnson is even a good singer.  But please, no cringe-worthy puns about Miami Vice.  And you just know Stallone would shoe horn that shit in there.

Richard Dean Anderson

Does Richard Dean Anderson deserve a role in this series?  I’d say 1980s stars need to be looked at.  Some, like David Hasselhoff, must be avoided lest the show descend into outright slapstick (please, don’t tempt Stallone/Lerner).  Others like the original MacGyver probably warrant some type of appearance.  Anderson’s role in MacGyver was pretty good, if a little family orientated.  He also took over Kurt Russell’s duties as Jack O’Neill in the Stargate series.  But like a lot of these guys, he’s kinda getting on in years at the age of 65.  I think he has also put on a few extra lbs.

So then, there are a few names to begin with.  I’m sure there are many more, Kiefer Sutherland?  Sammo Hung? Dominic Purcell? but we’ll probably return to them at a later date.  Would love to hear more suggestions!