Breaking Stallone's Franchise Rule For A Reboot

Against all odds, it looks like The Expendables 5 will actually happen, but if it’s going to work, it will need to break Sylvester Stallone’s biggest franchise rule. He’s doing great work on Tulsa King, but after Stallone’s two recent actioners received 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, he could do with returning to his big franchises.

Sadly, he doesn’t have that many left. He’s rejected any potential return as Rocky in the Creed movies and dropped out of the upcoming Cliffhanger reboot. Likewise, the next Rambo will be a prequel detailing the title character’s time in Vietnam; Noah Centineo will inherit the part.

That only leaves The Expendables franchise, and his involvement with future sequels isn’t a certainty either. The Expendables 4 was a critical and commercial flop, barely scraping back half its estimated $100 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), and the fourth film also attempted to replace Sly’s team leader Barney with Jason Statham’s Christmas.

Despite the fourth outing being universally disliked, the franchise has collectively grossed over $850 million thus far. That’s why Lionsgate recently made a deal to acquire the rights to both Rambo and The Expendables, making a new sequel to the latter a near certainty.

The Expendables 5 Should Kill Off Most Of The OG Characters

Given the panning Expendables 3 and 4 received, the property could use a complete overhaul. One clear way to signal this would be to bring in a new batch of characters and actually live up to the premise by killing some of the original cast.

This is a move the series has been bizarrely resistant to since it began in 2010. Thus far, Liam Hemsworth’s Billy the Kid is the only Expendable to get expended thus far. Dolph Lundgren’s Gunner or Terry Crews’ Hale Caesar were meant to die in the first and third films respectively, but were saved by last-minute rewrites.

This has held the franchise back for too long. While killing a character off can amount to cheap shock value, the lack of fatalities in The Expendables is glaring. The entire premise is that these crusty old war dogs live for the fight, but it’s tough to sell any genuine danger if they always walk away with barely a scratch.

The Expendables 5 could be a total reboot with no links to past films, but in today’s IP-focused world, that’s unlikely. The smart move for part five would be to bring back a couple of familiar faces while introducing a new crew. If the original gang is largely wiped out, this would be a logical way to start fresh.

Why The Expendables Has Avoided Killing Characters

Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross looking serious in The Expendables — Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross in The Expendables

Stallone explained in his Netflix doc Sly that he hates movies that kill the protagonist, as he believes this bums out audiences. In 1978 he starred in F.I.S.T., a gritty thriller about a union leader. The film ends on a downer note where his character is gunned down, even though Stallone himself strongly disagreed with this move.

Since then, Stallone has never truly died in a film, regardless of the storyline. Even when movies like Rocky V or Rambo: Last Blood were going to end with the title characters perishing, Stallone later changed his mind. That’s why The Expendables saga has, with one exception, avoided killing off its battle-worn mercenaries.

On one hand, Stallone’s logic is understandable, but with The Expendables it’s gotten ridiculous. These are over-the-hill soldiers going up against entire armies, and after four films, it’s rather implausible things keep working out for them. The Expendables 3 had about 15 of the title characters, and they all walked away smiling.

The Expendables 3 gave an early role to future leading man Glen Powell as one of the new recruits.

That’s something The Expendables 5 will need to address. Again, the sequel shouldn’t treat death glibly, but after four outings, it’s time to establish the job the team does is actually kind of dangerous.

After The Last Two Movies, The Expendables 5 Needs To Be Something Very Different

Jason Statham on a motorbike in The Expendables 4.

Assuming the next Expendables moves away from Stallone’s guiding hand, it must try something new. The series felt awfully tired and predictable with the fourth outing, and new blood needs to be injected to keep it relevant.

Lionsgate is the home to franchises like John Wick, so it’s a good place for the next Expendables to land. Spitballing a new line-up for the team, it would be nice to see Mr Wick himself, Keanu Reeves joining, alongside other potentials like Charlize Theron, Gerard Butler or even Dwayne Johnson.

More than anything, it needs to be a crew that gets both fans and newcomers excited. It would be smart to keep on an OG character like Barney or even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Trench to either mentor or even join the crew, but above all else, The Expendables 5 needs to signal a new direction.

The reception to the last film was toxic, while the third Expendables got a tepid response too. The fifth film is the last chance to prove the franchise’s viability, so the creative team will need to create something special. Other stalled franchises have risen from the ashes before, so there’s no reason to think an Expendables 5 can’t rock.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo