Megan Fox, 50 Cent and Tony Jaa join cast of ‘The Expendables 4’
The fourth film in the action-packed The Expendables franchise is officially in development.
Lionsgate and Millennium Media confirmed that the fourth film is moving forward with a major casting update yesterday.
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture, who have appeared in the previous three installments, will be reprising their roles for the fourth film.
According to THR, the veteran stars will be joined by franchise newcomers rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Transformers star Megan Fox and martial arts master Tony Jaa (Ong Bak), with production scheduled to begin this October.
The action flick will be helmed by Scott Waugh from a script by Spenser Cohen, Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly.
In a statement, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group President of acquisitions and co-productions, Jason Constantine, said the latest film would raise the bar from previous installments.
"It’s so much fun to bring these stars together for a no-holds-barred action film. The new film will raise the stakes and be the biggest, most badass adventure yet."
“To keep it fresh and fun, we’ve added exciting new stars to join the veterans; popcorn entertainment is guaranteed,” Millennium President Jeffrey Greenstein added.
The Expendables franchise launched from a story written by Stallone with the film series created to pay homage to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and 1990s. The films star some of the biggest action stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford.
Each of the three films, The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012) and The Expendables 3 (2014), centers on an elite group of mercenaries tasked with increasingly difficult missions.
While the films have received mixed reviews from critics, they have all been box office hits, grossing over $804.1 million worldwide.
The fourth Expendables film was first announced by Stallone in 2015, one year after the third film came out, but no major updates regarding production have been given until now.
(Images via Lionsgate)