Quite a few names have been tossed around to direct a third installment of THE EXPENDABLES franchise, the fan favorite seeming to be action auteur John Woo (see our Cast This here). However, Sylvester Stallone has taken to Twitter for reactions to a name he’s floating around; Mel Gibson. After sending out a Tweet saying “What about Mel Gibson directing Expendables Five???” as a joke, the actor/writer/director quickly followed up with a serious inquiry:
It’s a name that hadn’t come up previously as a serious contender, but had been whispered. With Mel seemingly being shunned from everyone in Hollywood due to his outrageous behavior we’ve missed out on seeing the Aussie both in front of and behind the camera more so than we would if the doors were still open. Gibson has more than proven his skill in directing, making some intense and awesoem films in his short directing resume. BRAVEHEART will forever stand as an all-time favorite (Top five at least) and both PASSION OF THE CHRIST and APOCALYPTO were powerful films that stand on their own merits.
In my humble opinion, Mel would bring a refined statue to THE EXPENDABLES franchise, which I feel was botched by Simon West on the last outing (seriously, was it just me or was half the movie out of focus?). Head over to Twitter and let Sly know what you think. He’s always been someone who listens to the fans and takes what they have to say to heart, for better or worse. With a number of stars in contention to join THE EXPENDABLES ranks, I think Mel would fit in perfectly, whether he’s in front of or behind the camera.
With rumors of everyone from Bill Clinton to Hulk Hogan appearing in the next outing, it seems like there’s plenty of room for everyone, including ol’ Mel. No start date is set for the film, but Sly seems deadset on continuing the franchise.
More as this develops. Gibson will next be seen in Robert Rodriguez‘s MACHETE KILLS, while Stallone hits the big screen again with buddy Arnold Schwarzenegger on the newly retitled THE ESCAPE PLAN (formerly THE TOMB), both out on September 13, 2013.