In 2010, Sylvester Stallone celebrated his 64th birthday. That same year, he also unveiled a new movie that boasted a genius concept; assembling a who’s who of long-in-the-tooth big-screen action stars for “The Expendables.” Playing the leader of a team of mercenaries, Stallone was joined by Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis — with former rival Arnold Schwarzenegger even making a cameo. The film was a big hit, with its $274 million box office kicking off yet another Stallone-centric franchise.
“The Expendables 2” hit theaters in 2012 — adding a few more cast members, including Chuck Norris and Liam Hemsworth — and “The Expendables 3” in 2014 (adding a full-fledged role for Schwarzenegger, along with new arrivals Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, and Ronda Rousey. The fourth film in the series, “Expend4bles,” debuted in 2023, with Stallone passing the torch to Statham for any subsequent sequels.
While the films certainly resonated with audiences, Stallone made no bones about the over-the-hill status of he and his fellow action heroes, which, in fact, was the linchpin of the films’ appeal in the first place. “We were like head waiters at the Last Supper,” he joked in an interview with TNT Magazine. “We had a dinosaur as a house pet. We’re old. Well, I’m old.”
