If you liked The Expendables and The Expendables 2 starring Sylvester Stallone but thought it was just a touch heavy on the testosterone, then Robert Luketic’s new female-centric spinoff The ExpendaBelles may be for you. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Luketic will be directing the female-centric actioner The ExpendaBelles for Millennium Films.
For those who don’t know about The Expendables franchise, it is the story of a group of top mercenaries in New Orleans who are deployed to the Gulf of Aden to save hostages on a cargo ship from Somali pirates. Stallone leads the crew as Barney Ross, and the ensemble cast includes Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture. Though it has drawn mixed reviews due to the violent nature of the movie (and questionable quality of a narrative not intended for much more than to sling up as many action stars on screen as possible), there have been two sequels: The Expendables 2, which was released in 2012, and The Expendables 3 which will be released this summer. The first two films have earned more than $579.9 million worldwide.
The ExpendaBelles will focus on female operatives who must pose as call girls to rescue a nuclear scientist who is being held hostage. No actors have been cast yet, but Luketic will start casting soon and intends to start shooting in the summer.
Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah, both who worked with Luketic on the romantic-comedy Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon, wrote the script for The ExpendaBelles. Stallone, the lead actor of The Expendables series, and his producing partner Kevin King Templeton will be producing. Heidi Jo Markel (Olympus Has Fallen), Julie Kroll (Vamps), Avi Lerner (The Expendables 2), Trevor Short (The Expendables 2), Boaz Davidson (The Expendables 3), John Thompson (The Legend of Hercules) and Mark Gill (Olympus Has Fallen) are all executive producing.
It is not a surprise to see Luketic direct the female-centric ExpendaBelles as he has directed several female-focused films before, including the previously mentioned Legally Blonde along with The Ugly Truth and Monster-in-Law. He also helped with 21 and Paranoia. With the support of the many producers from the original Expendables series expect The ExpendaBelles to be more of the same.
Leave a Comment