'The Expendables 2' Moves Forward; Sylvester Stallone Will Not Write Or Direct
Even before The Expendables opened last year, we heard that a sequel was likely to happen. And a sequel still seems very much on the boards, but new info paints it as a very different project than we previously expected.
Millennium Films is moving forward with the second film, but the script is by David Agosto and Ken Kaufman, rather than Sylvester Stallone. Sly also directed the first film, but the company is now looking for someone else to direct the follow-up.
The LA Times has the info on the new script, but doesn't offer much beyond the names of the writers and the fact that Sylvester Stallone has been "meeting with directors to tackle the sequel." So we don't know why he isn't directing, or what the plans for the sequel are.
As for returning and/or new cast members, we'll have to wait. Arnold Schwarzenegger could now take a bigger role, and Sylvester Stallone suggested that he wanted a bigger role for Bruce Willis, as well. That would make the sequel a real matchup between the three '80s action stars to upstage the cameos in the first film.
Really, I just want a film that is more exciting than the first. For a film with so many action stars, I found The Expendables sadly dull. Please, less about the lives and girlfriends of the characters this time, and more solid fight scenes. I appreciate the efforts towards building a 'real' script, but that wasn't the appeal of this particular setup. Rambo, with forty-five minutes of people exploding, was great. Hopefully the sequel will push the phsyical abilities of all involved more than anything else.