The Expendables 4 will not feature Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite the fact that he appeared in the first three films.
This was already known because when Lionsgate revealed the sequel’s cast, Schwarzenegger’s name was not to be found.
The cast includes Sylvester Stallone, along with several of the original cast members and a few new ones. As a result, when the movie debuts in theaters in September, fans shouldn’t anticipate seeing the Terminator.
Now, Schwarzenegger provided some explanations for his absence from The Expendables 4 in a new interview with Parade.
The actor claims that he directly informed Stallone of his disinterest since, in his opinion, he would have been repeating what he had done with the role in the prior films.
Although he’s through with the series, Schwarzenegger says that he still intends to work with Stallone on a future project.
He added that he essentially completed the original trilogy as a favor.
In his words;
“It’s done and I’m not in it. I said, ‘You know what, we have done this and I’m out of it.’ And [Stallone] really understood. I did [the first Expendables] as a favor to Sly. I shot it on a Saturday for two hours quickly in a church with Bruce Willis. Sly said, ‘Oh, can you do Expendables 2?’ and I did that for a weekend. Then it was expanded for Expendables 3. And that was it. We’re going to do something together one day.”
Stallone had hinted that the movie is less of an additional part of the Expendables flicks as fans are familiar with them and more of a spinoff centered mostly on Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas character.
Statham actually makes up around 80% of the film, according to Stallone. But in addition to Stallone and Statham, other returning favorites like Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren will also appear with him in the movie.
With their roles in The Expendables 4, newcomers Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, and Andy Garcia are joining the franchise.
“Obviously there’s only four old Expendables characters left, and that’s me and Dolph [Lundgren] and [Jason] Statham and [Sylvester] Stallone,” Couture said of the movie’s cast last year, per uInterview. “So we added a whole new influx of new people. 50 Cent who I’ve worked with before and have a lot of respect for. Megan Fox which, was nice to meet somebody new. Andy Garcia who I’ve been a big fan of forever and has done some amazing work in the film industry. So it was really fun to get to see him work and be around him.”
Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, and Max Adams wrote the screenplay for The Expendables 4, while Scott Waugh directed the film.
On September 22, 2023, the movie will be released.
