The Expendables franchise has been Sylvester Stallone’s golden opportunity to bring together some of the best action heroes in the history of cinema and witness them wreak havoc on potential enemies and criminals. The franchise boasted of an en ensemble cast that has managed to bring in many big names with Stallone as leader of the team along with, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews. The supporting players and villains included names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Chuck Norris, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, and Antonio Banderas.
A poster for The Expendables 2
Even with those big names, some other actors were not interested in the franchise and turned down appearing in the films. The most significant one was Steven Segal who is an influential figure in bringing martial arts and implementing it in American action sequences. He had a rather interesting reason regarding why he didn’t want to participate in the franchise.
Steven Seagal Did Not Like Some People Involved with The Expendables Franchise
Steven Seagal
The Expendables franchise is a dream come true for action lovers as they get to see their favorite action heroes come together and fight a common enemy. One would have expected Steven Seagal to show up in one of the films and display his swag and skills as an action hero in the franchise. But Seagal avoided being in the franchise as he was not comfortable with some people who were involved with the films. He said, (via SlashFilm)
“I just didn’t like some of the people involved. Life is too short to work with funny people. Of course [I won’t name names]. There’s good and bad people everywhere and a lot of people in The Expendables I like too. So it’s okay.”
It is highly speculated that Seagal is referring to his alleged feud with Sylvester Stallone and even with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Fans of Seagal who wanted to see him in the franchise will be disappointed to hear this news. The franchise has been deteriorating since its first two films, with the latest fourth installment receiving the worst reviews of the franchise so far.
Expend4bles Will Be Sylvester Stallone’s Last Hurrah as Barney Ross
Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone will be making his last appearance as Barney Ross in the latest Expendables film. The film which he says is 80% driven by Jason Statham, will be his ‘passing of the torch’ film for him to Statham. He took to Instagram to post his last day of shooting on Expend4bles as Barney Ross to share his gratitude for the love and support from fans and say his goodbyes.
It is indeed sad news for fans of the character and Stallone who has put his heart and soul into these films and the commendable efforts put by him in the action sequences despite his age. But it is better to move on from a character when the time comes and not overstay its welcome or unnecessarily stretch it to a breaking point. Fans can witness Stallone’s final appearance in the series in Expend4bles which is currently running in theaters.
