The Expendables 4 is an upcoming sequel that is dedicated to emulating action movies of the '80s, and now fans got a new glimpse at a behind-the-scenes photo from the upcoming film. The photo features Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, just two of the many stars appearing in the action flick.
Lionsgate's The Expendables 4 will be an action thriller movie that releases in theaters next year and follows the events of The Expendables 3. The fourth film will see a lot of returning icons and bring in many new faces, including Megan Fox and 50 Cent. With many of the older icons getting up there in age, there is becoming more and more room for newcomers to step up to the plate in order to solidify their own action film career.
The Expendables 4 set photo teases both Stallone and Statham characters, who have appeared in all four installments of the franchise. With the Fast and Furious franchise coming to an end soon, there will be a big space empty for an action film series to take its place. John Wick doesn't strike many as a franchise that will become never-ending, but the Expendables films have something special. If this franchise were to continue on, they could write it so that the contemporary movie stars are the leaders or protagonists of the newer movies. This means the franchise can potentially have a decades-long life, where the previous stars "pass the torch" to each new generation of action film stars.
Nobody is certain as to whether or not The Expendables 4 will be the last in the franchise, but many older fans are happy to see its return. This film is set to be something that many new/younger fans will find interesting and may prompt them to give the older action flicks a chance. There are a lot of hidden gems in the '80s that were classics during their debut but not commonly referenced in today's climate.
The current action movie scene is dominated by films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe/Disney side of cinema. However, film franchises such as Fast and Furious and John Wick show that action films still have a place (although those are two different sides of the action world). These films, however, haven't taken advantage of doing big successful cross-media releases such as video games, which would be a good way to increase fan hype as well as value for the franchise.
At the same time, there's plenty of room for a new franchise to reign. Many of the recent action films have pushed the boundaries for cinematography and filmmaking when it comes to fights, special effects, and even choreography. Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool 2, for example, has done a good job at creating great fight scenes while still delivering shock value. Hopefully, Expendables 4 can do the same.
The Expendables 4 is scheduled to be released in 2022.
Source: Sly Stallone/Instagram