MOVIE NEWS – Preparations for The Expendables 4 have been slow, but now the project seems to be on track; shooting will start in the autumn, and the actors have been cast.

The first instalment in 2010, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, brought together veterans of the action movie world, and the sequels, which arrived in 2012 and 2014, also featured big names. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that The Expendables 4 will see Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Jason Statham and, of course, Stallone reprises their characters from previous films.

There are also some exciting newcomers, with rapper Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, set to appear in the fourth film, and Megan Fox, who retired from the limelight after the first Transformers films but has recently been looking to return to it, will play the female lead. They are joined in the sequel by martial artist Tony Jaa, who previously appeared in Death Race 7 and Monster Hunter.

According to THR, the story will not focus on Sly but on the character of Statham, who is also producing the film. The script for the fourth instalment was written by Spenser Cohen under the supervision of Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly, with Scott Waugh (Need For Speed) in the director’s chair. “It’s great to bring all these stars together in this relentless action movie. The new film raises the stakes and will be the biggest, toughest adventure yet,” said Jason Constantine, one of the executives at Lionsgate who produced The Expendables 4, and the president of Millennium, which produced the film, Jeffrey Greenstein, who said it was guaranteed to be a fun popcorn movie.

Source: Lionsgate