CinemaCon — a very fancy name for what is essentially a trade show for the movie theater industry — is about to get underway, so we can expect to see a lot of new trailers and posters and first looks for upcoming movies in the days ahead. Studios will hype their upcoming releases and try to get exhibitors equally excited to book their films.
One of the first advance looks to hit the web is the first poster for The Expendables 4, or as it is billed on the promotional art “Expend4bles.” (Good luck trying to figure out how that’s meant to be pronounced; “Expend 4 Bulls”?) The image boasts one hell of a tagline — “They’ll die when they’re dead” — and reveals the full cast of the movie, which includes franchise stalwarts Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture, plus new additions Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, and Andy Garcia.
Sylvester Stallone, who co-wrote all three previous Expendables and directed the first in addition to starring as the leader of the group of mercenaries known as “The Expendables,” is listed in the “And” credit at the end of the cast list, suggesting he’s got a smaller supporting role this time. (Stallone turns 76 years old in July, so playing the lead of a big action movie might not be the best role for him at this point in his career.)
Longtime Expendables fans may note that there are a few names missing from that list. Jet Li appeared in all three previous Expendables films as Yin Yang, but he’s absent this time; so are Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had also co-starred or cameoed in each Expendables movie to date. And it doesn’t seem like any of the new additions to the team from The Expendables 3 like Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Ronda Rousey, or Antonio Banderas came back this time either. Alas.
The Expendables 4 — excuse me, Expend4bles — is expected to open in theaters later in 2022, although it doesn’t have an announced release date yet.
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