Jason Statham wasn’t happy about how small Sylvester Stallone’s role was in The Expendables 4. The Expendables franchise launched in 2010 with Stallone as a director, screenwriter, and lead actor. Each installment follows a team of mercenaries agreeing to take part in world-spanning missions with consequences on a global scale. Stallone has played a major part in every entry, but the latest sequel has seen him step back to offer Statham a more active role.
In an interview with Cinema Express, Statham gets candid about missing the days when Stallone was more involved in the franchise. While he does not explain the reason for Stallone’s absence, he still emphasizes that the actor is a central part of The Expendables 4 cast. To Statham, the best days on set had Stallone there. Check out his quote below:
In this particular story, he is absent for reasons we don’t talk about, we have to guide ourselves through the ocean without him. There is something about not having him around that doesn’t feel right. So, we are getting through, the story is the story, we are trying to do our best, but the best days are when he is on set.
Sylvester Stallone Deserves A Bigger Role In Expendables 4
While Stallone’s Barney Ross plays a significant role in The Expendables 4’s ending, he fails to be the leading man in the way that he was in previous movies. After faking his own death, the responsibility of leading the movie is left to Statham’s Lee Christmas. Barney’s influence echoes throughout the entire movie, but his lack of a physical presence does not quite have the same effect compared to earlier entries.
An Expendables movie without Stallone playing a major part is jarring. He was the director, writer, and leading man of the first iteration and has been driving the franchise ever since. Stallone is synonymous with this franchise, but the diminished role was inevitable. The legendary action star quit taking part in production after experiencing creative differences. He later returned, but it could explain his limited screen time if he spent much of the development cycle away from production.
Unfortunately, the Expendables 4’s shockingly low Rotten Tomatoes score — a mere 16 percent at the time of writing — could spell the death knell for the franchise if it impacts the box office results. The reviews have been brutal, calling out the poor CGI, clunky editing, lack of originality, and underwhelming storytelling. Based on the negative reviews and projected box office performance, The Expendables 4 could be the last Expendables movie, and Statham would have preferred more of Stallone’s involvement.