Expendables 4 Director Scott Waugh Talks Joining Franchise and Sylvester Stallone's Involvement

The Expendables was released back in 2010, and it was directed by franchise star, Sylvester Stallone. Other directors have stepped in along the way, including Simon West (The Expendables 2) and Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3). The fourth installment is now playing in theaters, and it was helmed by stuntman-turned-director, Scott Waugh. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Waugh, and we asked about Stallone's involvement in the latest installment, and whether or not he's taken a backseat. 

"Look, I think it was exciting because it was a challenge, but I really – with where the story was going on this particular film – I really wanted to be very careful and make sure we are still on brand with Expendables," Waugh said of joining the franchise. "And I really wanted to actually go back to tonally Expendables 1 where the whole franchise started, lean in what Sly originally created. And so there's a lot of easter eggs and homages in the movie. If you know the franchise well, you'll catch a bunch of them, and it was just exciting to take the brand and make it fresh, but not deviate." 

"Well, if anyone knows Sly, his ability to take the backseat is completely incapable. He is such an incredible storyteller in his own right, and his resume will lean deeply into that," Waugh explained. "So I think Sly is such a wonderful collaborator and I think Jason [Statham] and myself especially, we always were respectful of him and asked for his opinions. Sly loves to be involved and I love for him to be involved because he has such a wealth of expertise. So it was super fun working with him." 

Who Stars In Expend4bles? 

It's been over eight years since The Expendables 3 hit theatres, and fans of the franchise are eager to see the star-studded line-up of action stars return in the fourth movie. The previous Expendables movies featured an impressive line-up of big names such as Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Terry Crews, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mickey Rourke, Mel Gibson, Chuck Norris, Ronda Rousey, and more. 

The upcoming fourth movie will see the return of Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, and Couture. They will be back alongside franchise newcomers Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, Andy Garcia, and Iko Uwais. 

Stay tuned for more from our interview with Scott Waugh. Expend4bles is now playing in theaters.