In 2010 Avi Lerner made every 80’s and 90’s action-movie fan’s dreams come true – he helped produce a film that brought together superstars Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger under one C4 laced roof with The Expendables. Then he followed that with that movie’s sequel, which saw Willis and Schwarzenegger in bigger roles. Along for the ride were contemporary action heroes Terry Crews, Jet Li, and Jason Transporter Statham. Now it seems Lerner wants to do it again, but for the ladies.
Avi Lerner let slip the update to Bulgarian press, which, according to Deadline, is apparently not an uncommon thing. Deadline found a Bulgarian translator and discovered that Lerner, and Millennium Films, have been talking to Meryl Streep, Cameron Diaz, and Milla Jovovich to star in the aptly named The ExpendaBelles. He also revealed that they are looking to find a female director to help the film. While Streep is highly regarded for her performances in drama, Diaz and Jovovich have played the leads in a handful of contemporary action movies. Cameron Diaz, along with Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore, arguably helped reinvigorate the genre with the Charlies Angels series, while Milla Jovovich has been a staple of contemporary sci-fi and action with the Resident Evil series, The Fifth Element, and Ultraviolet.
While he hasn’t disclosed any potential female action-stars for the project, Lerner has a wide-ranging set of stars to choose from. In order to recreate the same seemingly stunt-casted spectacle that The Expendables was Lerner could look to Sigourney Weaver (Alien series), Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2), and Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise) to satisfy the classic action-movie fans, and Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider series, Salt), Gina Carano (Haywire, women’s MMA), Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious Series, Machete), and possibly even Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass) to fill out the starlets who have picked up the torch. It also wouldn’t be surprising if Lerner is considering Penny Marshall or Kathryn Bigelow to helm the film, though again, it’s all speculation at this point.
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