Sylvester Stallone Leaves The Expendables Franchise
So it turns even Sylvester Stallone is expendable…the veteran actor has decided to walk away from the franchise that he helped build after disagreeing with the direction the fourth instalment was taking.
According to Deadline, Stallone and producer/Nu Image/Millennium boss Avi Lerner were clashing over some key issues, including a director, elements of the script and even where to source the CGI effects. Stallone was also worried about diminishing returns from the franchise and, despite his close connection to it, he decided to walk away. However, Lerner hasn’t given up entirely on getting him back on board.
“We’ve got disagreements with Sly, but we’ve had them for over a year and a half," he says. "Right now, each one has an opinion. We agreed on 95% of things, but there are certain things in production we don’t agree on. I don’t think it’s over, but write whatever you want. In my opinion, it's not dead."
This could be spin, it could be a bargaining technique or it could even be an olive branch, either way with shooting days skipped and a release date yet to be announced, it looks like the franchise could also be at an end.
