Principal photography has been completed on Sylvester Stallone’s “The Expendables,” but no sooner has the ink dried on the contracts has Milennium Films’ Avi Lerner commissioned development to begin on a sequel, possibly more than one. Speaking to nola.com, he says, “Definitely. We already have got some ideas about ‘Expendables No. 2,’ ‘No. 3’… Definitely, it’s a franchise movie.”
While “The Expendables” could easily result in a sequel (and from the script we read, it certainly leans hard in that direction, keep in mind- Lerner views EVERYTHING as a franchise. Lerner has served as a producer on sequels to “Shark Attack,” “Undisputed,” “The Prince & Me” and “Bad Lieutenant,” among others, and still on his resume is another long-rumored entry in the “Rambo” series. Does this guy walk to the Grand Canyon and think, “Pretty spectacular, but it would be better if it was a trilogy”?
While Stallone is still in fighting shape, he’s 63 years old, man! The cast in “Expendables” doesn’t skew much younger, from 36 year old slugger Jason Statham to 56 year old Mickey Rourke. If Stallone cranks two more films and his supposed “Rambo” sequel, Stallone would be, at the youngest, 68, writing, directing and starring in these films. Do they make steroids that powerful?