The Expendables 4 (stylized as Expend4bles) is an upcoming American action film directed by Scott Waugh, with a script co-written by Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart and Max Adams, from an original story by Spenser Cohen, Wimmer and Daggerhart. The fourth installment in The Expendables franchise and the sequel to The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012) and The Expendables 3 (2014), it stars an ensemble cast including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture reprising their roles from previous films, alongside 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, and Andy García.

Statham, Avi Lerner, Les Weldon, Yariv Lerner, and Kevin King are serving as producers; the film is retaining an R rating like the first two films in the franchise. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 22, 2023, by Lionsgate.

Premise

The Expendables are drawn into a conspiracy that will ignite a nuclear conflict between Russia and the United States.

Cast

• Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross: The leader of the Expendables. Stallone confirmed that the film would be his final appearance as Barney Ross, with Statham expecting to take over the series after his departure. Due to this, his role in the film was limited.
• Jason Statham as Lee Christmas: The team s knife expert. As Stallone was looking to pass the franchise s lead on to Statham, he did about 80% of all filming and oversaw post-production, also serving as a producer.
• Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen: A volatile member of the team, undone by years of combat stress. Lundgren stated that his character has been sober for several years now and is on a philosophical soul search.
• Randy Couture as Toll Road: The team s demolitions expert.

Additionally, Curtis 50 Cent Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, Sheila Shah and Eddie Hall have been cast in undisclosed roles. Iko Uwais has been cast as the lead villain, while Andy García plays a CIA agent.

Production

Development

After The Expendables 3 underperformed at the box office, the future of the series was left in doubt and production stalled over several years. By November 2014, it was announced that the project is being developed with intent to retain its R-rating like the first two films. In December 2016, Sylvester Stallone announced that the fourth installment will be the final film in the series, while a scheduled tentative release date was set for 2018. By March 2017, Stallone had left the project and the franchise, due to creative differences over the script and direction for continuing the franchise. In January 2018, after vocal support from other cast members (including Arnold Schwarzenegger), Stallone announced his return to the series with a post to his social media platforms; confirming new developments on the fourth movie.

By August 2020, Vértice Cine announced their involvement as a production studio on the movie, alongside Lionsgate and Millennium Films. They also revealed that Patrick Hughes will return to the series as director. In November 2020, the president of Millennium Media, Jeffrey Greenstein, stated that the studio is continuing to work on The Expendables 4 after various delays within the industry worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Scott Waugh would be directing the film, replacing Hughes, as well as Statham serving as a producer of the film, while Stallone confirmed his involvement with the project, and that The Expendables 4 was the same project as The Expendables: A Christmas Story, previously reported as a spin-off but in fact the film s working-title during development. Stallone further stated that production was set to commence in October of that year. According to Dolph Lundgren, the film had a budget of $100 million.

Writing

In July 2018, Gregory Poirier announced his role as screenwriter. Production was tentatively scheduled to begin by April 2019, though it wasn t until July of that year that Stallone announced that he was continuing to work on the script for the project. The script was completed later that year, though negotiations with producers were ongoing. In August 2021, it was announced that Spenser Cohen wrote the most recent draft of the script with Max Adams, from a story by Cohen.

Casting

Over the years, multiple actors reported interest or claimed they were approached to star in a fourth installment. In March 2014, Pierce Brosnan stated that he had agreed with producer Avi Lerner to star in a fourth installment. By April of the same year, Sylvester Stallone revealed his first choice for the villain was Jack Nicholson, while mentioning his interest in convincing Clint Eastwood to join the production. According to Jackie Chan, he was approached to star in the film by Stallone but was unsure about having limited screen time in an ensemble film, which is why he had turned down roles in the previous two entries. Dwayne Johnson publicly expressed interest to play a villainous character in a new installment during a 2014 Q&A and reiterated his interest to join the series in 2022. In May 2015, Hulk Hogan claimed that he was in talks with Stallone to play the film s main villain.

In June 2020, Jean-Claude Van Damme expressed interest in returning to the franchise, publicly pitching his idea of playing Claude Vilain, the brother to his villain character, Jean Vilain, from The Expendables 2. Despite discontent with how his character was handled in The Expendables 3, Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed he was interest in returning to the series if he liked the script. However; on May 29, 2023, Schwarzenegger confirmed that he would not be returning to the franchise, citing a general disinterest. While he was not included in the fourth movie, Kellan Lutz proclaimed interest to return in a fifth installment in an Instagram post. On the other hand, Terry Crews, who had starred in all previous films, refused to appear in any new entries after claiming he was sexually assaulted by Stallone s agent, Adam Venit, alleging he was pressured by producer Avi Lerner to drop the case if he wanted to stay in the series.

However, none of the actors mentioned above were subsequently cast, and the cast was announced to include returning stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Randy Couture, and Dolph Lundgren, while new cast members were revealed to be Eddie Hall, Curtis 50 Cent Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Andy García, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio and Levy Tran, with Iko Uwais playing the villain.

Filming

In August 2021, it was stated that principal photography would begin in October. Filming officially commenced on September 29, 2021. In October 2021, Stallone announced on social media that he had finished filming his scenes for the movie. The film was shot in London and Bulgaria and the Jackie Chan Stunt Team handled stunt choreography. In November 2021, production was shot in Greece, including the city of Thessaloniki. Members of the Greek Armed Forces were used as extras and alleged they were not compensated for their month-long official deployment, despite working overtime. On December 3, 2021, Tony Jaa confirmed filming had wrapped.

Music

On April 26, 2023, Guillaume Roussel announced that he would be composing the film s score, replacing Brian Tyler from the previous installment.

Release

Theatrical

The Expendables 4 is set to be theatrically released by Lionsgate on September 22, 2023. The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2022.

Marketing

In April 2022, the first standee posters for the film were unveiled at CinemaCon. The first teaser trailer footage was released exclusively to the attendees at Lionsgate s presentation at the convention.

Year	2023
ReleaseDate	2023-09-22
Plot	The Expendables will square up against: an arms dealer who commands the might of a massive private army.
Directors	Scott Waugh
Writers	Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, Max Adams
Stars	Jason Statham, 50 Cent, Megan Fox
Produced by	Vessela Banzourkova, Christa Campbell, Michael S. Constable, Allen Dam, Boaz Davidson, Claiton Fernandes, Vladimir Fernandes, Jeffrey Greenstein, Lati Grobman, K. Blaine Johnston, Eda Kowan, Jonah Leach, Avi Lerner, Yariv Lerner, Gisella Marengo, Balan Melarkode, Abby Mills, Euzebio Munhoz Jr., Matthew O Toole, Steven Paul, Lonnie Ramati, Trevor Short, Jason Statham, Kevin King Templeton, Robert Van Norden, Les Weldon, Christopher Woodrow, Jonathan Yunger
Music by	Guillaume Roussel
Cinematography by	Tim Maurice-Jones
Casting By	Elaine Grainger, Despoina Saroglou
Art Direction by	Eliza Banzourkova, Biljana Jovanovic, Kira Kemble, Ivan Ranghelov
Set Decoration by	Natalia Eyres, Neil Floyd, Orlin Grozdanov, Arta Tozzi
Costume Design by	Neil McClean
Makeup Department	Daniela Avramova, Chatzoglou Eirini, Niamh Glynn, Anita Hvarleva, Sofi Hvarleva, Anna Ivanova, Bistra Kechedjieva, Desislava Manasieva, Dimitrina Stoyanova, Lucia Tsappis, Kristina Zlateva
Production Management	Steve Cole, Paula Crickard, Lionel Frid, Stefan Mutafchiev, Kristina Sakizli
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Maria Boua, Asya Chakarova, Max Critchlow, Daniel Kemsley, Galina Kyuchukova, Ben Lanning, Amy Leyshon, Elena Mateva, Ivan Mitov, Aliki Nakopoulou, Becca Nichols, Alexandros Papagiagkou, Eva Papatzikou, Rumyana Popova, Brian Smrz, Lydia Stansbury, Zornitsa Tsvetanova
Art Department	Soula Apostolaki, Leah Beardmore, Neil Benterman, Bogdan Bogdanov, Dirk Buchmann, Christina Cammarota, Dan Carter, Ewan Coates, Rachel Corbould, Jevon Edwards, Martin Genchev, Spas Genev, Anna Hadzhieva, Gina Hammersley, Matthew James Howe, Rafael Jilavian, Anastasia Kariki, Stefanos Konstantinou, Peter Krumov, Maroje Lesina, Vesselin Lessev, Richard MacMillan, Yossif Mladenov, Vasilis Moschos, Nikolai Nikolov, Adam Ogelsby, Leonidas Papagiagkou, Orestis Papakonstantinou, Steve Patterson, Vladimir Petkov, Ivan Radev, Mike Rawlings, Victoria Reynolds, Radostina Ruseva, Boris Sekulic, Chris Sidiropoulos, Kristian Stoyanov, Yulian Svilenov, Joanna Townley, Krista Vacheva, Preslav Valchev, Mariana Videnova, James Vooght
Sound Department	Matt Bainbridge, Nikolay Bakalov, Alistair Bolt, Zahary Borisov, Kris Casavant, Alexandros Christanis, Adrian Gougov, James Hyde, Tsvetan Kadiiski, Tassos Karadedos, Pierre-Yves Lavoué, Tapio Liukkonen, Valery Metodiev, Ivaylo Natzev, Papagiannidis Nikolaos, Ivan Nikolov, Ryan Nowak, Aleksander Popov, Ryan Thompson
Special Effects by	Csaba Bagossy, Dominic Blake, Bence Füredi, Tom Goodman, Efthymios Rafail Gourgouris, Danny Hargreaves, Owen James, Ivo Jivkov, Georgi Karadjov, Zina Lefkou, Emyr Lewis, Tom Scouse Lock, Jared Manley, Lister Morris, Joe Patti, Luke Rutter, John Schoonraad, Tamas Uzoni
Visual Effects by	Denitsa Baycheva, David Cvetkovski, Jan Daghelinckx, Venelin Dinkov, Uzun Ergin, Veselina Georgieva, Katerina Kalinska, Gordana Krsteva, Irina Lazarova, Mariano Melman Carrara, Milad.Savar, Nikolay Mishonov, Jhonnatan Alejandro Niño, Ivaylo Paskalev, Pavlina Petrova, Misho Ristov, Krasimir Rizov, Oscar Robinson-Coldwell, Kirtan Singh Taak, Osmaner Tasdiken, Albert Testani, Tanja Topuzovska Bogojevska, Vladimir Vatev, Hugh Smith
Stunts	Nathan Aldous, Greg Burridge, Joss Carter, Dan Chapman, Lee Charles, Billy Clements, Scotty Cook, Alex Cvetkov, Rok Cvetkov, Antoni Davidov, Gabrielle Anne Desy, Aleksandra Dragova, Dom Dumaresq, Safi El Masri, Isky Fay, Vladimir Fistric, Alexander Garcia, Mike Gassaway, Dimitar Goranov, Martin Gordon, Jasmin Hadzic, Sophie Hilditch, Savio Ho, Ilko Iliev, Dimitar Ilkov, Vlasto Ivanovic, Zdravko Jurkin, Sahin Karakus, Steve Kelso, Fabijan Krpelnik, Filip Krzisnik, Chi Lewis-Parry, Jess Liaudin, Miguel Ángel Luque, Cody Mackie, Russell MacLeod, Zeljko Matovina, Vedran Miler, Georgi Nikolov, Lockhart Ogilvie, Igor Pecenjev, Oliver Pedrero, Peter Pedrero, Tjasa Perko, Slaven Petrovic, Joseph Racki, Sara Ratosa, Voula Sideridou, Blaz Slanic, Ilir Smakici, Goran Stjepanovic, Ryan Stuart, Sasa Tomasevic, Phillip Ray Tommy, Luka Vradjan, Sasa Vuk, Elmo Walker, Shiraz Yasin, Alexandros Yiasemi, Steen Young
Camera and Electrical Department	Ivan Aleksandrov, Yavor Aleksandrov, Nikola Angelov, Viktoriya Angelova, Dragomir Arnaudov, Teodor Asenov, Ioan Banzourkov, Davide Bianco, Yana Blajeva, George Botzakakis, Gergana Bozhanova, Craig Broughton, Matteo Carlesimo, Samuel Cig, Adam Conlon, Martin Cox, Jack Davey, Davor Divkovic, Georgi Dotsanov, Darren Edwards, Joseph Edwards, Thomas English, Antony Robert Ephgrave, Ismail Falton, Boris Hristov, Edvard Hudi, Lachezar Indzhiev, Bernin Isaac, Genadi Ivanov, Ivaylo Ivanov, Penko Ivanov, Vania Ivanova, Maria Karamanolaki, Ben Keeling, Dimitar Krastev, Markus Kuballa, James Leckey, Zdravko Menchev, Ivelin Metodiev, Alexander Mihailov, Kaloyan Nedelchev, Jan Novak, Steven Osborn, James Osborn-Brown, Yannis Papanastasopoulos, Slaven Pavlov, Hristo Petkov, Petyo Petrov, Leo Plank, Riccardo Porfirio, Domagoj Pribanic, Orestis Psomopoulos, Mark Rafferty, Rashko Rakov, Aleksandar Ribarski, Baz Rivers, Biser Rulev, Dave Sherman, Georgi Sirakov, Daniel Smith, Valentin Stanimirov, Jay Stevens, Slavyan Stoichev, Krasimir Tomov, Stavros Tsirlidis, Ivaylo Tsvetkov, Kiril Valchanov, Ivan Vatsov, Konstantin Vladimirov, Marchelo Vladimirov, Terry Williams, Rhys Winter-James, Mihail Yanakiev, Georgi Yankov
Animation Department	Gopinathan Annamalai
Casting Department	Alexandra Akanthopoulou, Hugh Edwards, Katerina Goranova, Preslava Hristova, Chrysanthi Kampanou, Voula Sideridou
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Sophia Aiudi, Tammy Foley, Katia Fourtouni, Anna Gelinova, Maximilian Hennah, Phoebe Hogan, Leah Johnston, Aristotelis Kioleidis, Hania Kosewicz, Carole Louise Machin, Ioanna Mamali, Rachel McGoogan, Layan Nourouz, Nana O, Katarina Pavlova, Jessica Phillips, Penny Pipili, Victor Prodanov, Rebekah Russell, Georgi Petrov Yakimov, Panos Zacharakis
Editorial Department	Jivko Chakarov, Colin Foulkes, Peter Gahan, Ivan Todorov Ivanov, Veliko Karachiviev, Kerim Eren Kaygisiz, Patrick King-Templeton, Pierluigi Secci, Alexander Vanegas Sus, Vanessa Taylor
Location Management	Tom Bosanquet, Abbey Butler, Danion Hughes, Stefan Mutafchiev, Marcus Nolan, Vasilis Ntanis, James Player, John Shedden, Alek Teleshun, Nikos Vittis
Music Department	Ryan Svendsen, Steven Wayne Thomas
Script and Continuity Department	Adriana Kyulevchelieva, Xenia Taylor
Transportation Department	Nikos Avgenos, Daniel Balchev, Manos Bosmalis, Nikos Daoukopoulos, Alihan Dobada, Christos Giannakoulas, Stewart Homan, Anthony Jones, Christos Koutlas, Bruce Patel, Hitesh Patel, Zahari Todorov, Georgios Tsivranidis, Nitin Upadhyaya
Additional Crew	Sara Aghdami, Dimo Aleksandrov, Ilina Alexandrova, Tsvetan Atanasov, Jenna Barnes, Mke Chauffeurs, Irina Cherkelova, Jeroen Cocquyt, Marta Dackiewicz, Mark Darlington, Zoe Davis, Sagiv Diamant, Tasos Diamantis, Lefteris Dimitriou, Ariadne Divaris, Ian Edwards, Emily Eyre, Brianna Ferguson, Sofia Ferrara, Tony Finnigan, Matthew Fyson, Yavor Gadzhev, Kyros Georgiadis, Mary Georgou, Danny Greenstein, Heather Greenstein, Jeffrey Greenstein, Nicole Gulimanova, Bozhidar Hristov, Tsvetelina Ilchova, Aleksandar Ivanov, Sydne Japtha, Katerina Karpouzi, Shareen Khan, Christos Kontodimas, Jannis Lazaridis, Thanos Leontaris, Tanya Liskova, Daniel Lynch, Michael McGrale, Tanner Mobley, Lee Newell, J.J. Nugent, Ralitza Ognianova, Kate Page, George Pantsios, Eleni Pnevmatikou, Yannis Poulkas, Timothy Scott Ralston, Lonnie Ramati, Stoyan Rusev, Ryan Santoso, Lia Saroglou, Monika Spasova, Alexander Vanegas Sus, Kristina Tamahkyarova, Martin Taskov, Jacob Thomas, Gergin Todorov, Eva Tokka, Athanasios Tsamis, Giannis Vakoufaris, Anastasianna Vatou, Dessy Velikova, Eubys Brooks Walkes, Saffron Watson, Alexandra Wong, Anna Zhelezkò
Genres	Action, Adventure, Thriller
Companies	Campbell Grobman Films, Media Capital Technologies, Millennium Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English
Keywords	commando mission,team cooperation,wrestling move,commando,mission