MOVIE NEWS – With Sylvester Stallone effectively out of the Expendables franchise, director Scott Waugh is considering what his role could be now.

Expend4bles director Scott Waugh has explained Sylvester Stallone’s future in the franchise. The Expendables franchise was partly invented by Stallone. He directed and starred in the first film. He also had a significant role in the second and third instalments of the series. But in the recently released fourth film, he took a smaller role, handing the spotlight to Jason Statham.

Waugh has now clarified Stallone’s future in the franchise after handing the baton to Statham in the latest movie, Expend4bles.

Speaking to Moviefone, Waugh mentioned that this transition is “exciting”. In Stallone’s case, the director admitted that he is “at a place in his life where time is super important to him”. Check out the full quote from Waugh below:

“I think the idea that Stallone’s passing this to Statham is exciting. Stallone still amazes me, his physical capability at his age. It’s still unbelievable to me. I’m 53 and busted up, and somehow he is in his late seventies and can still do it. But I think for Sly, he’s in a place in his life where time is super important to him. Being on the full run of an ‘Expendables’ movie takes up a lot of his time and I fully respect that. Jason’s my age and really is still excited about continually working a lot. So it was a natural pass. Now, I’ll say, I definitely don’t think Sly is out of the brand. I think Sly will always be a part of it. He’s the starter of ‘The Expendables’ and the original director. So I think it’s new blood with the old.”

What does the future of The Expendables look like?

Waugh aptly sums up what the franchise will look like after the latest film. The team looks different from when the franchise debuted in 2010. The first two films, for example, featured Bruce Willis, Stallone, Statham and the rest of the team. Willis, who has since retired from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, is not in Expend4bles. Neither are other former actors, such as Harrison Ford.

With this change, and the switch to Statham, the cast of the Expend4bles indeed mixes “new blood with old” by replacing seasoned stars like Stallone with younger faces.

Aside from the main cast, the franchise’s future may not be as certain as Waugh suggests. The new episode has received some of the worst reviews of the series. It scored just 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. To make matters worse, it also did severely at the box office. At the US box office, it grossed just $8.3 million. This was well below already low forecasts. Therefore, the possibility of Expendables 5 seems rather unlikely.

The Expendables series is already past critical failure. However, such a financial failure may be impossible for the franchise to overcome. Producers Kevin King-Templeton and Les Weldon have said that another sequel is possible with fan support. However, nothing is confirmed at this stage. With such negative performances and criticism, it seems that Waugh should not be questioning Stallone’s involvement in the franchise. But whether the franchise will continue at all after Expend4bles…

Source: Moviefone