The Expendables 4 will probably happen once the international gate comes in. While The Expendables 3 is off to a horrible start in North America — it’s not expected to gross $20 million in its opening weekend, Variety reports — the films do quite well overseas.
(Then again, so did A Good Day to Die Hard , and that’s not much of an indicator of quality.)
Still, it’s quality that Jackie Chan will want if he agrees to come on board for the inevitable fourth entry. What Chan doesn’t want is a five-minute Chuck Norris cameo where he gets lost in the ensemble. From Variety :
“So if I’m in Expendables 4 , I want it to be me and him [Sylvester Stallone],” he said. “Then it might be interesting. Otherwise you just come out for five minutes.”
Chan also said that he’s waiting for the right scripts before agreeing to return to the Rush Hour and Drunken Master franchises.
While we can definitely see the point Jackie Chan is trying to make here, we think he might have messed up turning down the second and third films, as he’d previously admitted.
Regardless of whether Expendables 3 turns a profit, most critics and audiences agree that the latest film suffers from franchise fatigue. When that happens, it’s best to step away and wait several years before revisiting something.
Unfortunately, Stallone probably doesn’t have the years to wait. In another few, he’ll no longer be a bankable action star; many would argue if you said he was now.
And as much as Jackie Chan may not want to admit it, his stock isn’t worth what it used to be either.
In other words, his best chance to do an Expendables movie has already passed. And at this point, so has everyone else’s.
Now as for Rush Hour 4 , that’s a possibility. Chris Tucker has voiced an interest in the past, and Chan recently reiterated that he could be on board, so long as certain conditions are met — namely, the script.
More from Variety :
“I believe after Drunken Master 2 stop; better than we make no more,” he told audiences this week during a Q&A in London promoting his film Chinese Zodiac . “Unless we have a better script. Just like lately they want to make Rush Hour 4. I said ‘No, show me the script first. I don’t need another Rush Hour 4 . You need Rush Hour 4 . Show me the script.’ I don’t want to do a rubbish script just because they want to make the movie.”
Would you like to see Expendables 4 , and if so, do you think Jackie Chan would be a good addition?
[Image via cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com ]
