EXPENDABLES 4 STARTS IN OCTOBER… KURT RUSSELL?

Some rumblings have come out about a fourth Expendables film recently.  A ‘fall’ start date was been rumored, along with Stallone teasing pre-production on Instagram.  Now, in a YouTube video Randy Couture confirms an October start date, in Europe.

I’m heading to Europe where we’ll be filming The Expendables 4, here in October.

Heading to Europe probably means it’s headed to Span.  Within the past year, Vértice Cine has claimed involvement in production, it appears that Bulgaria is a thing of the past, at least partially.  It also looks like the hated ‘Young Expendables’ are history…

We’re kinda breaking this fourth one down to the original crew almost.  Wesley Snipes will be back.  Antonio Banderas will be back, Dolph Lundgren’s back.  Jason Statham’s back and Toll Road, myself.  And Stallone obviously, of course.

Later in the discussion, Couture talks about the appearance of Bruce Willis, which is likely not going to happen.  The ‘ship has sailed’…

It’s going to be a fun one.  I read these scripts and I’m like how the hell are we gonna do that?  They’re so crazy.  I don’t think Bruce Will be back.  I think that ship sailed with The Expendables 3, he kind of price himself out.

In addition, Couture gives his thoughts on who is the most legitimately dangerous fighter among the core cast of The Expendables movies.  It is of course brick shit house karate man Dolph Lundgren.

Dolph is the only real guy who had any combative sports experience.  He was competitive in karate for a long time, he’s a big guy, six foot four, very long range guy.  I think of all the guys.

Although it should be remembered that Jean Claude Van Damme has also had many light, semi and full contact fights as well.

At any rate, pre-pandemic information on this movie had Patrick Hughes returning as director along with Pierce Brosnan in apparent discussions to show up in the movie.  Finally, in a tantalizing Tweet, the screenwriter of the movie reveals that a role has been written for Kurt Russell…

I wrote Kurt Russell into Expendables 4 playing a kind of variation of Snake. I hope they stick with it.

— Gregory Poirier (@Greg_Poirier) June 6, 2021

This Tweet is from June, so it’s not some old 2014 news. Of course scripts can change a lot and I’m sure others have been written in and out of these movies.  And it could possibly only be a cameo.  Russell has also previously turned down a role in this series.  But it is quite suggestive, if unlikely…