Sylvester Stallone’s small role in “Expend4bles” is the swan song of the action hero in the franchise, which he launched back in 2010.
Stallone’s character, Barney Ross, was the main character of the films that preceded the fourth “Unstoppable”. Stallone was also the co-author of the scripts of three previous films and the director of the first film.
That’s why fans were puzzled last weekend when they went to “Expend4bles”, and Stallone was hardly present.
The reality is that his exit from the franchise has been discussed for a long time.
The Expendables franchise was created by Stallone and screenwriter David Callaham, who launched the franchise in 2010, starring Stallone alongside Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li and Bruce Willis as an elite team of mercenaries.The film grossed over $270 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of just $80 million, and the franchise took off.2012’s The Expendables 2 achieved even greater success, grossing over $314 million at the worldwide box office and adding even more action hero legends to the roster such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris.
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But 2014’s The Expendables 3, despite adding Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson, hit a speed bump when it brought in just $215 million worldwide on a $100 million budget (not including advertising dollars spent). . And although the fourth film was already ready, Stallone did not like how things were developing.In March 2017, Deadline reported that Stallone had left the franchise (and a $20 million payday). The publication reported that his exit was over creative differences on “a new director, on the script, and on certain qualitative elements of the film.”In January 2018, Deadline reported that Stallone was back in the fourth “Expendables.” But, it turns out, not as a main character.
After getting the team together for a new mission, this one including the likes of 50 Cent, Megan Fox, and Andy Garcia, Stallone’s Barney Ross character seems to die early on, leaving Statham’s Lee Christmas as the face of the movie.However, after 90-plus minutes of butt-kicking, Stallone comes out of nowhere to save the day in the final action sequence. It turns out that Ross faked his death to one-up the bad guys.This marks what Stallone says is his final appearance in the franchise.
Back in October 2021, Stallone announced in a video posted on his Instagram page and shot on the set of the movie that he had just filmed his final scene.
“When something you’ve been so attached to, I guess it’s been about 12 years, and I’m ready to pass the baton on to Jason and his capable hands,” said Stallone.
However, even Statham admits seeing Stallone leave the franchise he helped create with such little screen time was a bummer.
“In this particular story, he is absent for reasons we don’t talk about… we have to guide ourselves through the ocean without him,” Statham told Cinema Express. “There is something about not having him around that doesn’t feel right. So, we are getting through, the story is the story, we are trying to do our best, but the best days are when he is on set.”