'Sword Art Online' Drops A Surprise Sylvester Stallone Cameo

Sword Art Online may have kept quiet over the last year, but 2018 sought to change that. Not only will the franchise debut its third season this fall, but Sword Art Online put out its first spin-off as well. So, how has A-1 Pictures celebrated the new title?

Well, believe it or not, it seems the answer to such a question is Sylvester Stallone.

Yes, it looks like Stallone has breached the world of anime. The actor may not have loaned his talents personally, but Gun Gale Online borrowed his appearance for one slick cameo as you can see below.

The Expendables in SAO AGGO - Wesley Snipes, Silvestre Stallone, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris and Jet Lee. from r/swordartonline

In the latest episode of Gun Gale Online, fans did a double take when Stallone showed up with the entire cast of The Expendables. Above you can see Stallone as Barney Ross in his all-black ensemble. The anime character is joined by co-stars like Wesley Snipes, Bruce Willis, and Dolph Lundgren. The group looks like its planning an assault while Llenn and Pito prepare their own strategy. And, yes — Stallone does pull off this anime makeover rather nicely.

Oh, and Chuck Norris makes a super-short cameo too. If you are going to go all in with action appearances, you can't leave the formidable Norris out, can you?

For those new to this spin-off, the synopsis for Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online is as follows:

"In the world of guns and steel that is Gun Gale Online, LLENN has been a devoted, female solo player. She is obsessed with two things: donning herself entirely in pink and honing her skills with consistent game play. She soon discovers her love for hunting other players (a.k.a. PK), soon to be known as the "Pink Devil."

Meanwhile, LLENN meets a beautiful yet mysterious player, Pitohui, and the two click right away. Doing as she is told by Pitohui, she enters the Squad Jam group battle."

For those unfamiliar with Sword Art Online, the series was originally created by Reki Kawahara with illustrations provided by abec. The series follows a boy named Kirito after he and thousands of gamers get trapped in a virtual reality video game known as Sword Art Online.The gamers must band together to defeat the game's final level to escape, but Kirito and his guild learn there is more behind their prison than they were originally told.

Did you catch this hilarious easter egg? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!