Expendables 4 Director Reveals Antonio Banderas' Character Was Originally Going To Be Featured

The first three Expendables movies featured an impressive line-up of big names, and the upcoming fourth installment is set to include the return of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture. There are many big stars from the third installment who will not be coming back for Expend4bles, including Antonio Banderas, who played the extremely talkative Galgo. Fans of the franchise might be surprised to learn that the fourth film features Jacob Scipio as Galgo's son. ComicBook.com recently spoke with director Scott Waugh, and we asked about the new installment's connection to Expendables 3. 

"Look, actor availability is always difficult when you have this many celebrities," Waugh explained. "So that character was originally written for Antonio, but Antonio's availability didn't allow him to be in the movie. So I didn't want to get rid of that dialogue and that character because it was so quintessential to the comedic moments. And so we came up with this idea of, 'What about if it's his son?'"

He continued, "And so we could still have the same vibe as Antonio, but a little bit different. He is not replicating Antonio. So that's when Jacob Scipio came in and really kind of brought that character to life. And I think he does a great job in the movie." 

Expend4bles Stunt Coordinator Studied Cast's Filmography:

ComicBook.com had the chance to ask Stunt Coordinator Alan Ng questions about the film. Ng spoke about working with the film's stacked cast and talked about bringing a Hong Kong influence into the franchise. We asked Ng if he went back and watched the first three Expendables films to prepare for the gig, and it turns out he actually went the extra mile. 

"Yeah, we watched all the previous Expendables and a lot of the films starring the other actors, so that we could see what they haven't done before and what type of style would suit them best," Ng shared via a translator. Considering the number of action stars featured in the Expendables franchise, that is a whole lot of research. 

When asked if there's any moment he's particularly proud of in Expend4bles, Ng revealed, "It would have to be Jason and Iko's fight scene ... We only had a day and a half to film Jason and Iko's fight scene. Jason and Iko did it in the short time frame, they were incredible and did the fights themselves. They are real action stars." He added, "We would have loved to have more fight scenes for Iko, but it's all down to the script and character." 

Stay tuned for more from our interview with Scott Waugh. Expend4bles hits theaters on September 22nd.