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Expendabelles (All Female Expendables Spin-Off) Back In Development

KyoZz

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THR reports that Eclectic Pictures and Hollywood Ventures Group are working on a "female-driven expansion" of the action franchise, tentatively titled Expendabelles.

The previous incarnation of the movie was going to be helmed by Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic, with Sigourney Weaver attached to star. The story focused on female operatives who had to pose as call girls to rescue a nuclear scientist being held hostage.
This time, the plot will centre on "a new generation of elite female operatives in a stylized, action-driven cinematic event designed to expand the mythology of the franchise while standing firmly on its own."

No casting news just yet, but 2023's Expendables 4 did include a female member of the team played by Megan Fox, so there's a chance she might return. The fourth movie was a critical and commercial bomb, however, so maybe not!
Here's what the main franchise's lead Sylvester Stallone said when asked what he viewed as the challenges of an all-female Expendables spin-off while promoting the third movie in 2014:

"With The Expendabelles, we're in uncharted waters. To put all women together, will that really work? Do you have to put in some women that are actually really known to be tough — other MMA fighters [like Ronda Rousey who appears in The Expendables 3]? Or are the Expendabelles really part of a divorce, with Sigourney Weaver as my wife and she's inherited half of the Expendables?"

 
And I'm sure nothing can go wrong. It's not like The Expendables is a typical male centric, testosterone fueled action movie.
To me it never felt this way. Each one felt like a celebratory movie to finally cross-over action stars who had never been in a film together, but the action and stakes themselves were always at a mediocre, almost parody level compared to each person's better works.

If anything, it always felt like the Expendables movies would have benefitted from a Jackie Chan-esque full on end credits where they show all of the bloopers and the actors getting along because that's the type of feeling each one gave off (instead of hiding them behind blu-ray/dvd menu options).

So from saying all of this, to me it makes perfect sense to make a celebratory movie of the women's side of action stars who may have never been in a film together.

Hopefully they actually manage to get Michelle Yeoh to be a part of this.

Edit: Screw it, they should reach for the moon and try to add Linda Hamilton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lucy Liu, Zhang Ziyi, Carrie-Anne Moss, Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Ming Na-Wen, etc.
 
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If they get Sarah Michelle Gellar I may watch it.
This, I think, is the missing "secret sauce" for this recipe. The Expendibles wasn't so much an action movie as an ode to THOSE action stars, so they gotta cast actresses that bring an action pedigree with them, and those are FEW and far between. SMG is one, though I don't think she has the physicality for a legit action film. Sigorney, Linda, Michelle (Yeoh), they have the pedigree but they is OLD. You gonna throw Jaime Lee Curtis in there? Jennifer Garner? Michelle Rodriguez? Maggie Q? Geena Davis? Tough bad girls are not common and they are fleeting. We don't really have a cynthia rothrock, cynthia khan, bridgette Nielsen cadre.

Still, if the script is half decent and the jokes are good, I'm in. Love those films even if they are largely hokey schlock.
 
10 years ago I was looking forward to this, but now I think the moment has gone, and the added years will certainly have a detrimental effect on any classic actresses they had in mind. Cynthia Rothrock was nudging 60 then, now it's 70.

Z Zarak Do you really want to see a 70 year old Cynthia scissor an 80 year old Sigourney?
 
like maybe the first two Expendables was entertaining, the rest were embarrassing.

This one will go great on a shelf next to female ghostbusters and the oceans F one
 
Let's do a casting!
My wishlist:

Sigourney Weaver seems set.
Cynthia Rothrock
Linda Hamilton
Grace Jones
Michelle Yeoh
Cynthia Khan
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sophia Crawford
Sharon Stone
 
I didn't like the first one really, just not my thing apart from watfching Jason Statham, and I didn't watch the second one, but isn't the entire point of this franchise that it's a throwback to macho 80s action movies? This seems unnecessary, just make it a Charlie's Angels movie instead, or did they already tank that IP?
 
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Let's do a casting!
My wishlist:

Sigourney Weaver seems set.
Cynthia Rothrock
Linda Hamilton
Grace Jones
Michelle Yeoh
Cynthia Khan
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sophia Crawford
Sharon Stone

It's at least a decade too late for this movies but my wish list / (not so) prime candidates would be:

Holly trinity, you can't do a movie without at least two
  • Sigourney Weaver
  • Linda Hamilton
  • Michelle Yeon
Team 90-2000
  • Charlize Theron
  • Uma Thurman
  • Carrie-anne Moss
  • Kate Sackhoff
  • Michelle Rodriguez
  • Jessica Chastain
  • Lena Heady
  • The girl from Vikings...
Team UFC/WWE
  • Gina
  • Ronda
  • Some hyped girl from WWE (The current punk rock/Goth one that i forgot the name)
  • (ain't gonna happen but i would love to see some strawweight with the frame and the charisma of Rose Namajunas kicking some ass just for fun)
Team I'm just too old for this shit, except for a cameo
  • Brigitte Nielsen
  • Grace Jones
  • Cynthia Rothrock
  • Pam Grier
And I would went full period mode with Kathryn Bigelow directing.
 
It's at least a decade too late for this movies but my wish list / (not so) prime candidates would be:

Holly trinity, you can't do a movie without at least two
  • Sigourney Weaver
  • Linda Hamilton
  • Michelle Yeon
Team 90-2000
  • Charlize Theron
  • Uma Thurman
  • Carrie-anne Moss
  • Kate Sackhoff
  • Michelle Rodriguez
  • Jessica Chastain
  • Lena Heady
  • The girl from Vikings...
Team UFC/WWE
  • Gina
  • Ronda
  • Some hyped girl from WWE (The current punk rock/Goth one that i forgot the name)
  • (ain't gonna happen but i would love to see some strawweight with the frame and the charisma of Rose Namajunas kicking some ass just for fun)
Team I'm just too old for this shit, except for a cameo
  • Brigitte Nielsen
  • Grace Jones
  • Cynthia Rothrock
  • Pam Grier
And I would went full period mode with Kathryn Bigelow directing.
Sigourney is 8 years older than Cynthia.
 
To me it never felt this way. Each one felt like a celebratory movie to finally cross-over action stars who had never been in a film together, but the action and stakes themselves were always at a mediocre, almost parody level compared to each person's better works.

If anything, it always felt like the Expendables movies would have benefitted from a Jackie Chan-esque full on end credits where they show all of the bloopers and the actors getting along because that's the type of feeling each one gave off (instead of hiding them behind blu-ray/dvd menu options).

So from saying all of this, to me it makes perfect sense to make a celebratory movie of the women's side of action stars who may have never been in a film together.

Hopefully they actually manage to get Michelle Yeoh to be a part of this.

Edit: Screw it, they should reach for the moon and try to add Linda Hamilton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lucy Liu, Zhang Ziyi, Carrie-Anne Moss, Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Ming Na-Wen, etc.

You're forgetting the co-queen: Cynthia Rothrock
 
When has an All Female spinoff ever worked out? The Expendables was already a series aimed at a niche audience, and they think that same audience or women for that matter, are gonna show up to watch a bunch of hags play soldier? This is gonna be a bomb-a-rooney.
 
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It rode a particular momentum of seeing a lot of these guys go out for a hurrah. Till I saw this thread I had no idea there was even a 4th lol
They called it Expend4bles, it's so dumb because it doesn't show up when you search Expendables.

This franchise is already done, there is no way they are gonna make a female one. The first movie broke even, the second did poorly, the third was a flop and the fourth was a massive disaster. No one in their right mind is gonna fund another.
 
Let's do a casting!
My wishlist:

Sigourney Weaver seems set.
Cynthia Rothrock
Linda Hamilton
Grace Jones
Michelle Yeoh
Cynthia Khan
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sophia Crawford
Sharon Stone
as call girls? No way.

We need Maggie Q, Michelle Rodriguez, Hilary Swank, that Chopra Priyanka chick, and Zendaya of course.
 
When has an All Female spinoff ever worked out? The Expendables was already a series aimed at a niche audience, and they think that same audience or women for that matter, are gonna show up to watch a bunch of hags play soldier? This is gonna be a bomb-a-rooney.
I know plenty of people don't like it, but I enjoyed oceans 8. I am a sucker for sandy b though.
 
Dead in the water. The reason the Expendables was a success was because of the novelty factor of having all these current and childhood action heroes together for the first time in one ensemble. That's it. That's the whole reason these movies exist and why men watch them.

Who the fuck are you going to bring into a female team? Sigourney Weaver? She's 76 years old. Linda Hamilton? 69. Sandra Bullock? Charlize Theron? Ana de Armas, I guess.
 
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