Why Sylvester Stallone Is Barely In The Expendables 4 (2024)

Given how Sylvester Stallone has been a prominent part of The Expendables franchise since its beginning, it is hard not to wonder why he is barely in The Expendables 4. Stallone was among the leading forces that initially triggered the development of the ensemble action movie series. As reports suggest, writer David Callaham had written a script for a mercenary action film titled Barrow in 2005, which Sylvester Stallone used as a springboard to kick off The Expendables.

Even during the casting process for the first movie, Sylvester Stallone played an active role in convincing stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme to join the action movie franchise. Although not all actors from Stallone's original Expendables team could become a part of the movies, the Rambo star played a crucial role in setting the casting and storyboarding foundations for the franchise. Since Sylvester Stallone's hard work has been instrumental to the franchise's success over the years, it is surprising that he appears in a limited capacity in The Expendables 4, leaving audiences curious about the behind-the-scenes decisions that led to the reduction of his role.

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Sylvester Stallone Originally Wasn't Going To Be In Expendables 4

Sylvester Stallone was initially a part of The Expendables 4's cast and was all set to reprise his role as Barney Ross. The Rocky star had even confirmed his involvement with the project towards the end of December 2016 by announcing that the fourth installment would be the series' last. However, only a few months later, Stallone departed from the project after having creative differences about its direction, script, and overall quality. Apart from these, reports also suggested that Stallone's selection of the CGI house for the movie's visual effects led to more disagreements between him and Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner.

Fortunately, despite announcing his departure from the fourth installment of the action movie series, the Rambo star confirmed his return in early 2018. One of the primary reasons he gave the franchise a second chance was the support from his co-stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. Following his return, Sylvester Stallone was back to working on the script for the movie in April 2019, which was completed towards the end of the year. Now that The Expendables 4 has premiered, Sylvester Stallone has offered some new updates and insights about his involvement with the future installments of the movie franchise.

Expendables 4 Is Meant To Be Stallone's Final Franchise Appearance

In a social media post (via Instagram), Sylvester Stallone announced his departure from the franchise by saying he will now pass The Expendables' baton to Jason Statham. Given how Sylvester Stallone previously confirmed his exit from several franchises, including Rocky, but returned for new installments, he may consider starring in The Expendables again sometime in the future. For now, however, it seems like the veteran star has retired from The Expendables and will expand his acting career in a different direction.