Sylvester Stallone is certain Expendables 4 will be rated R

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

There's no doubts that with a $40 million domestic gross, THE EXPENDABLES 3 was not the home-run Lionsgate and director Patrick Hughes were swinging for. Despite toting its most robust cast to date, the film underperformed its previous two installments by a pretty wide margin. So what was the fault? The PG-13 rating? The movie leaking online three weeks before the film's theatrical release? The story itself? Possibly an amalgamation of all of the above, but Stallone is conscious of this and not looking to make the same mistake twice. In a recent chat about the third installment, the inevitable talk of a fourth came into question.

Stallone on whether or not future installments will be rated R:

Absolutely unequivocally yes. I believe it was a horrible miscalculation on everyone’s part in trying to reach a wider audience, but in doing such, diminish the violence that the audience expects. I’m quite certain it won’t happen again.

In regards to the next EXPENDABLES film using time travel:

I have actually entertained the idea of putting the group into such an unnatural environment that it, in an of itself, creates extra suspense and tension: the “fish out of water” scenario. That environment might not be time travel, but nearly just as jarring.

The question about time travel may seem out of left field, but was actually a suggestion from EXPANDBLES 3 director Patrick Hughes. It's no secret that Stallone has been looking to shake up one of his franchises. After all, there was a time when John Rambo was going to hunt a Predator-esque creature. I don't know about time-travel, but it may do the series good to take a departure from the usual formula. If they're really trying to emulate action flicks of yesteryear, perhaps a look back on what made those films great, rather than lampooning them, is in order. After all, I don't think they could do much worse. Oh wait, THE EXPENDABELLES . . .