WI: "Expendables" type film made in the 90s?

[Emperor Norton I]

I love the concept of the Expendables series, of taking all the action stars and throwing them in together, but something that has nagged me is that everyone involved is so old. Chuck Norris is 72, for Christ sake.

The prime time for the film, of course, would have been in the 90s (likely the early 90s). By that time, the action film is the great money maker of the day, and all the famous action stars have made all these great films through the 80s, and even the 70s for some of them. So throwing them all together as an action team would seem to be an incredibly smart idea.

So what if the "Expendables" type of film were made in the 1990s?

[vultan]

Well, Face/Off was rumored to have been originally slated to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the leading roles...

[Mike Stearns]

If you were going to do this in the 80s or 90s, then I think that something along the lines of Die Hard would have been the best vehicle.

[Emperor Norton I]

Originally Posted by vultan

Well, Face/Off was rumored to have been originally slated to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the leading roles...

That would have been two of them. But I mean one of the superfilms we have now, where everything and the kitchen sink are thrown in. So having Stallone and Norris and Schwarzenegger and Van Damme and all those guys like the Expendables did. Jesus, you could maybe throw in Seagal and Hulk Hogan too, since they were still bankable in film at that time.

[Torqumada]

Originally Posted by Emperor Norton I

That would have been two of them. But I mean one of the superfilms we have now, where everything and the kitchen sink are thrown in.

Like the 70's era disaster movies.

Torqumada

[thekingsguard]

I've been saying this would have been awesome for years

Let's say you get the big three - that shouldn't be too much of an issue, as the three of them are friends. Toss in Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren and Chow Yun Fat, both of whom are good friends with at least two of the big three each, you have the base six.

Jean Claude Van Damme could be part of the team or the villain. If he's part of the team, how about Nicholas Cage as the villain?

Director, go for John McTiegue or Peter Verhoven. Maybe James Cameron.

In any case, this could well be the biggest action movie of the era - it might even save the stars and the genre from the relative slump it's been in until the OTL Expendables.

[Mike Stearns]

Originally Posted by Emperor Norton I

That would have been two of them. But I mean one of the superfilms we have now, where everything and the kitchen sink are thrown in. So having Stallone and Norris and Schwarzenegger and Van Damme and all those guys like the Expendables did. Jesus, you could maybe throw in Seagal and Hulk Hogan too, since they were still bankable in film at that time.

Here's another idea. Put them in Jim Cameron's Aliens.

[Emperor Norton I]

Originally Posted by Mike Stearns

Here's another idea. Put them in Jim Cameron's Aliens.

The problem with that may be how much it would work. Something like this isn't necessarily mindless entertainment, but it's probably less mindful in the way that 80s/90s action films were. I mean, when I saw Expendables, I could feel all the vibes of the 80s/90s action film in it. I don't know how to express it, but I don't know if it could be that in Aliens. Granted, I haven't seen Aliens in many, many years and remember it very, very little.

[MaskedPickle]

I have the idea, for my cultural TL, of Stallone turning into a succesful screenwriter (after all, he won an Academy Award for Rocky) and realizing it much earlier.

[hairysamarian]

There was The Sea Wolves in 1980. Might have looked like that; same theme.

[jakewilson]

It would be god-awfully expensive getting everyone. They wouldn't be able to afford effects.

[Emperor Norton I]

Originally Posted by jakewilson

It would be god-awfully expensive getting everyone. They wouldn't be able to afford effects.

But for the actors involved, being a concentrated All Stars team of the action genre, you get a massive, massive, MASSIVE money maker. You don't have multiple studios having all the action stars competing against one another with multiple films when that's released. You have one film that will soak in all that audience and all that money for a massive return. Not to mention merchandising deals and home video sales, as well as the possibilities of a franchise if all goes well. Hence, the budget required would be there.

[Devolved]

The problem with the early 90's is that neither Stallone or Schwarzenegger needed to do it.

Also casting people closer to their prime bumps up the salary and overall cost of the movie. The box office for a decent Expendables style movie aren't going to be much different from a normal Schwarzenegger/Stallone movie except you have higher production costs.

Having said that it's a shame they never did it for the sake of history.

A decent cast for say 1994 would be Stallone as the main hero (retired American cold war warrior) and Schwarzenegger as the villain (ex KGB cold war warrior).

The plot would be the usual 'loose nukes falling into the wrong hands' stuff. Stallone recruits Steven Segal, Sonny Chiba, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura and Sean Bean (as the Jason Statham type).

Meanwhile Schwarzenegger has Dolph Lundgren and Rutger Hauer working with him. Hauer turns out to be a double agent later in the film.

Chiba gets his neck broken like a twig by Schwarzenegger and this makes it personal.

The two classic one on one fight scenes are Dolph Lungren against Steven Segal and the final showdown between Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

To help them Stallone and Segal are joined by Michael Biehn, Reb Brown and Lee Majors as lesser characters who are killed in various amusing ways.

[The Vulture]

You need Lance Henriksen somewhere. Also Al Leong as a minor villain.

[High Plains Drifter]

To keep costs down, have only one (or two) A name stars, then fill the rest of the cast/mercenary team out with actors well known for playing TV and Movie tough guys/villians/con men/evil master minds.

Jack Palance
Michael Ansara
Michael Ironside
Ronny Cox
Dennis Farina
Danny Trejo
Jeroen Krabbe
Robert Davi
Brian Thompson
Bill Duke
MC Gainey
William Smith
Julius Carry
David Patrick Kelly
Tracy Walters
Mako

A lot of these guys co-starred in Stallone and Schwartzenegger movies.

[John Farson]

I'm a bit surprised nobody's mentioned Charles Bronson yet. He made his last film in 1994, which Devolved mentioned as an example year for a 90s Expendables film.

True, he'd be 73 at the time, but it wouldn't be much older than Chuck Norris was in Expendables 2. Indeed, Bronson could very well play a Norris-like role in the 90s Expendables.

[unclepatrick]

It would need to be more like the Dirty Dozen or the Magnificent Seven. A strong script that need a large cast.

[thekingsguard]

And remember - as far as money is concerned, I'm sure at least the holy trinity - Stallone, Scharzenegger and Willis - would take a pay cut if it meant working together on a film they had some say in the creation of. The one reason they didn't do this before now wasn't greed or lack of interest on thier part, but when the action genre was huge, they never had thier schedule's work out, and after it crashed, people wrote them off until now.

[Stéphane Dumas]

I'm a bit surprised nobody's mentioned Charles Bronson yet. He made his last film in 1994, which Devolved mentioned as an example year for a 90s Expendables film.

True, he'd be 73 at the time, but it wouldn't be much older than Chuck Norris was in Expendables 2. Indeed, Bronson could very well play a Norris-like role in the 90s Expendables.

Good point about Charles Bronson and in the early 1990s Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman was in their early 60s. Maybe they could had fit for the roles as well.

Also, Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree and Robert Hooks was in their early 50s.

[hairysamarian]

Originally Posted by Stéphane Dumas

Good point about Charles Bronson and in the early 1990s Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman was in their early 60s. Maybe they could had fit for the roles as well.

Also, Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree and Robert Hooks was in their early 50s.

And, lest someone should doubt that old dudes can be bad-ass, there's this guy.