Six years after The Expendables 3 was released in theaters, the star-studded action franchise is now looking to bring itself back into the spotlight with a spinoff centered around one of its most popular characters, and potentially America’s biggest holiday. The long-awaited fourth installment in the Expendables franchise is finally heading into production this year, but it’s not following in the footsteps of the third movie and including the entire roster of characters. This new film, The Expendables: A Christmas Story, focuses on Jason Statham‘s character Lee Christmas.
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Statham is one of the few stars to appear alongside Sylvester Stallone in all three Expendables films, and he’ll take center stage for the upcoming spinoff. Judging by the title, it also seems like a safe bet that the film will have something to do with the actual holiday itself.
DJ Caruso, known for directing films like Disturbia, Eagle Eye, and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, will helm the new Expendables spinoff, with a script written by Max Adams. Millennium Films is producing alongside Nu Image with a production budget of $70 million.
Both Statham and Stallone are already set to reprise their roles in the spinoff with co-stars Arnold Schwarzennegger and Tony Jaa likely attached as well. It’s unclear how substantial of a role any of the other returning cast members will play.
The Expendables arrived in theaters in 2010 and opened to the tune of $34.8 million in its opening weekend. Overall, the film earned a total of $103 million domestically as part of its $274 million global haul. The Expendables 2 arrived just two years later and raised the bar for the franchise, taking home nearly $315 million around the world. The Expendables 3 fell a bit flat, though, earning just $214 million in 2014, less than both of its predecessors.
Regardless, it looks like Stallone and his team are willing to move forward with a fourth installment, hoping that the money will be there this time around.
Are you looking forward to a fourth Expendables movie? Let us know in the comments!
This news was first reported by The Illuminerdi.
