The Expendables 4 Trailer Is Tricking You About Sylvester Stallone’s Role

Despite being all over The Expendables 4 trailer, it’s tricking fans about Sylvester Stallone’s role. The fourth installment in the popular action franchise, directed by Scott Waugh, finds Barney Ross (Stallone) once again assembling his team of seasoned mercenaries for a big mission, this time involving nuclear missiles on a cargo boat that could, if used, start WWIII. Ross is joined by ride-or-die pals Gunnar Jesse (Dolph Lundgren), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), and Toll Road (Randy Couture), with several new characters played by Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Tony Jaa, and more joining the fun.

The mastermind behind the franchise, Stallone naturally has a lot of screen time in the trailer, which sees him interrupting a reunion between Lee and Fox’s new character, formulating a plan of attack with Gunnar, and getting into his fair share of fistfights. However, with two popular series on streaming with Tulsa King and The Family Stallone, the trailer might be pulling a bait and switch. The Expendables franchise has always relied on the nostalgia of its aging action stars, and it might finally be time to pass the torch on to the younger members of the cohort.

Sylvester Stallone Has A Very Small Role In The Expandables 4

Even though he’s all over The Expendables 4 trailer, Barney Ross isn’t a significant part of the story. When he goes to find Statham’s Lee for a special mission, it looks like he’s recruiting him for more than just making sure some nuclear missiles don’t fall into the wrong hands. Based on everything we know about The Expendables 4, Stallone only filmed for a couple of weeks, and Statham appears to have a much larger story in the film, possibly primed to not only lead Expend4bles but possibly the whole franchise going forward.

With Stallone taking on so many other projects beyond the franchise, it makes sense that he would take a step back and let other characters lead the film. Big stars have come and gone from The Expendables since the first film, and with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Trench not being in The Expendables 4 after being in the previous three films, it might be a sign that some of its veteran cast members might be stepping aside. Stallone handed the Rocky franchise off to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, and the same might be happening with Statham’s Lee Christmas.

Why The Expendables 4 Trailer Includes So Much Of Stallone

The Expendables 4 includes a lot of Stallone despite the fact that Barney Ross won’t be in the film very much to help create a sense of continuity. Ross needs to be the one getting the group back together and introducing new members so that the fourth installment is congruent with the rest of the films. If there’s going to be some sort of passing of the torch for Ross and Christmas, or if Stallone foresees not being as available for this franchise in the future, it makes sense for him to feature prominently.

Given that it’s been eight years since The Expendables 3, there might not be too many future installments featuring Stallone, or even Lundgren at this pace. Stallone has shown no signs of slowing down in his career and has, if anything, just taken on more diverse roles to highlight his creativity and ambition. Hopefully, The Expendables 4 will be an indicator that however Stallone winds down his participation in the franchise, it will be on his terms.