The Expendables 5? Dolph Lundgren thinks Sylvester Stallone is developing it

Last Updated on March 8, 2024

Directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred as mercenary Barney Ross, The Expendables was a hit when it was released in 2010, drawing in viewers who wanted to see an old school action movie that allowed Stallone to share the screen with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis for the first time. Two years later, The Expendables 2 (directed by Simon West, but again co-written by Stallone) was even more successful, and many fans feel that film is where the concept really reached its potential. Mistakes were made on 2014’s The Expendables 3 (directed by Patrick Hughes, co-written by Stallone) that could have been easily fixed with a fourth film, which should have come along after a couple years. Instead, it took nine years for Expend4bles to happen… and when it did, with Scott Waugh at the helm, Stallone not only didn’t have a writing credit, but he was barely even in the movie. Expend4bles was a box office failure, and wasn’t exactly a critical darling, either. But franchise cast member Dolph Lundgren thinks we might still see The Expendables 5 someday.

During an interview with Screen Rant, Lundgren talked about the failure of Expend4bles: “I didn’t read the reviews, because I kind of knew what they were gonna say. That project had issues from the beginning, and it usually starts with the script. It really didn’t have a good script. I’m not playing the lead, so it’s hard for me to weigh in on some of those issues, but I know Stallone wasn’t involved, like he usually is. He just played a character in it, and when he’s in charge, the quality is going to be pretty good, it doesn’t drop below a certain level. But he wasn’t involved, so I think the problem was with the script, and then the director was replaced, like, a month before shooting. So between those two things — it’s hard to make a really good movie, and I also think that the originals, the first two especially, it was kind of about the team. It was about a team effort, and some of that got lost. I was sad to see go that way. Because 50 Cent was in it, he was great, and Megan Fox, they were all good assets. Also, the picture opened during the strike, which wasn’t very clever, so they couldn’t do any publicity. If you would have had a big star-studded premiere with Megan and 50 and Stallone and Statham, and the rest of them, myself, Andy Garcia, there would have been more eyeballs on it. And I’m sure it would have done better, but it’s too bad. I was disappointed.“

When asked if he would come back for another sequel, he answered, “Yeah, if Sly’s in charge. I think he’s working on his version of another chapter with these guys. If he’s in charge, then yeah, I’m sure it would be fun to work on it.“

Now, we have to wonder just how recently Lundgren might have talked to Stallone about anything Expendables related. Way back in October of 2021, when Expend4bles was in production, Stallone announced that he was “movin’ on” from the Expendables franchise, passing the baton over to co-star Jason Statham. Has he changed his mind in the fifteen months since? Does he have an idea for The Expendables 5 that could save this sinking franchise? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, Stallone will be off working on Cliffhanger 2.

I would love to see another sequel that’s along the lines of The Expendables 2. If Stallone could make that happen with an Expendables 5, I’d be all for it. Do you want to see any more Expendables movies? Let us know by leaving a comment below.