Expendables 3 Director Patrick Hughes Discusses Gibson, Snipes, Arnold

The Expendables 3 director Patrick Hughes recently gave his opinion on each member of the Expendables cast, from Mel Gibson down to Kelsey Grammar, when he spoke with Empire Magazine for their latest issue.  Here is what he had to say, at least about the actors people will give a damn about.

Wesley Snipes
You might expect the artist formerly known as Blade
who was scheduled to appear in the fi rst fi lm, to be
a bad guy, but no. “He’s part of the Expendables,”
says Hughes. “His Expendable name is Doctor
Death — he’s a knife man, and there’s some tension
between him and Lee Christmas. It’s a knife-off!”

Sylvester Stallone
When Stonebanks shows up, it gives the
Expendables’ main man a headache. “There’s some
confl ict between him and Christmas,” says Hughes.
He’s also pondering retirement. “It’s a thin red line
— if he stays, does he get his head blown off?”

Jason Statham
The Stath “is up to kicking people’s arses,” laughs
Hughes of Sly’s second-in-command. “He’s going
through a bad point with his best friend, and he’s
challenged because of the presence of Wesley
Snipes, so get ready for some barmy action.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Austrian Oak, now with beard, bags his biggest
Expendables role to date as Barney Ross’ old
sparring partner. “This time, they potentially think
that sometimes it’s better to work together instead
of fighting against one another. Maybe.”

Antonio Banderas
The former Desperado plays a mercenary. “He’s
formerly had his own mercenary outfit, a Spanish
team. He’s a little bit of friend and foe — we needed
a character to bring the heart and soul and comedic
relief. He’s so smooth, even my knees went weak!”

Jet Li
The Chinese megastar exited Expendables 2 stage
left pretty damn sharpish, but returns for another
slice of martial law. “He makes an appearance
again,” promises Hughes. “And it’s an explosive
appearance too.”

Harrison Ford
“He’s got a pretty substantial role,” says Hughes.
“Drummer is from that dark American CIA world,
and there’s a little bit of history between him and
Church (Bruce Willis, who won’t be in the movie). And
when push comes to shove, he ain’t just a suit.”

Dolph Lundgren
The super-smart, super-strong Swede returns; not
bad for someone who was meant to die in the first
movie. “Some of the young guns have tech smarts
and he’s trying to keep up, which is amusing,
because it’s Dolph Lundgren!”

Mel Gibson
“Sly’s good at names,” laughs Hughes of Gibbo’s
baddie. “Mel’s a wonderful villain because I like him.
He was there at the beginning of The Expendables,
and along the way he and Barney had a falling out.
That comes back to haunt Barney.”