Since the success of the The Expendables and even before the films release there has been talk of a sequel. When the flick hit paydirt grossing $275 million worldwide, it became clear that this could be the beginning of a new Stallone franchise that doesn’t build on his hallmark characters such as Rocky or Rambo (to some degree).
Production is now ramping up on the sequel which is locked in for release of August next year, though there was some concern as to who would be writing and directing the sequel this time round. While Stallone did an admirable job writing the first with Dave Callaham, it was painfully obvious that it was in need of a sturdier third act. Hopefully a more intricate narrative will be addressed with the sequel penned by Ken Kaufman (Space Cowboys) and David Agosto.
Up until recently it was also thought that Sylvester Stallone would be returning to helm the flick, though it has since been announced that the sequel has landed the talents of Simon West. While his most notable flick is Con Air, he did a bang up job with this year’s remake of The Mechanic starring Jason Statham which could be a contributing factor for working on the sequel. While his films are generally not all that deep, they are visually impressive and he knows how to handle pacing and rhythm, which should work in favor of a sequel of this caliber which needs to out-do the first.
At this stage it’s not known if Bruce Willis will have the meatier bad guy role Stallone has hinted at, or whether the ‘muscles from Brussels’ Jean-Claude Van Damme will be playing the villain as rumored.
While there’s been no official confirmations, the original cast of Sly, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews and Jet Li are all expected to return.
Lionsgate has set the release of The Expendables 2 for August 17th, 2012.
via: Deadline
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