Action icons collide in several images from behind-the-scenes of The Expendables 4, as Jason Statham teases what’s sure to be an explosive meeting of fists and feet between himself and The Raid star Iko Uwais. The poetically violent talents of Uwais were recently added to the ever-growing roster of The Expendables sequel, with the martial arts star set to play the movie’s villain.
“A real honour to spend some screen time with the incredibly talented @iko.uwais,” Statham said in a caption alongside the images, which see The Stath and Uwais trading blows before sharing a laugh on the set of the action outing. “A true master of his game and a powerhouse of speed and skills that take a lifetime to achieve. Massive respect for all that you do brother,” the actor continued.
It has been a few years now since our last action-packed adventure with The Expendables, with fans believing that the large cast of action movie superstars would never reunite and thus the fourth outing would never happen. Introduced back in 2010 with The Expendables, the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Mickey Rourke make up the titular team, who are a group of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a ruthless ex-CIA agent.
A love letter to the no-nonsense action blockbusters of the 1980s, 2012’s The Expendables 2 continued this trend, adding the likes of action legends Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the fray. The third movie in the series, somewhat unimaginatively titled The Expendables 3, hit screens in 2014, and once again saw the team of burly action men take off on another mission, this time against the villainous arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks, played by Mel Gibson.
While plot details are largely unknown, The Expendables 4 will reunite the intrepid team of mercenaries, with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture all set to return and reprise their roles from previous installments. The team will be joined by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Eddie Hall, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran and Iko Uwais, with Academy Award nominee Andy Garcia also due to make his Expendables debut as a CIA agent assigned to accompany the intrepid team on whatever ludicrous mission they have signed on for this time.
While the series has never quite managed to achieve the action movie heights that the names attached suggest it should, the addition of the likes of Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa certainly hints that, if nothing else, The Expendables 4 will feature the franchise’s best fight scenes.
One thing we do know about the fourth outing is that Stallone will step down, leaving Jason Statham to take more a of a lead role. “This will be my last day,” Stallone said in his recent Instagram post. “I”m enjoying it, but it’s always bittersweet when something you’ve been so attached to – I guess since, well now it’s been about 12 years – and ready to pass the baton on to Jason in his capable hands.”
The Expendables 4 is scheduled to be released in 2022 by Lionsgate. These images come to us courtesy of Jason Statham’s Instagram account.
Source: movieweb.com