Nicolas Cage "Locked In" For THE EXPENDABLES 2

But Stallone says John Travolta is not yet confirmed for what would be a Face/Off reunion... but hints that he is trying to secure Michael Biehn and Michael Pare for the sequel.

By Matt Holmes /

It looks like we could be in for a reunion of the crazy eyed actors from John Woo's 1997 action classic Face/Off as Sylvester Stallone confirms he is trying to secure both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage for the cast of his The Expendables sequel. For Travolta, despite word recently that he was officially on board, Stallone confirms he desperately wants him but it all depends on scheduling and whether Stallone can convince him to travel to Bulgaria for filming in the winter. He tells EW;
€œIt€™s possible. The one thing I€™ve learned is what is a fact on Monday is a complete fallacy on Tuesday. A lot of it is scheduling. It€™s not financial. It€™s just that Bulgaria is definitely a jaunt. It€™s a commitment, you know what I mean? Especially in the dead of winter.€
For Cage, Stallone says he is "locked in" and it's happening, probably because Cage rarely turns down money offers these days as he needs to keep the taxman away! Somehow, Stallone has assembled an even more impressive cast than he did the first time around; We found out last week that 80's action icons Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis have "more substantial" roles than they did cameoing in the original which along with Stallone is the trifecter we never thought we'd see on film... but we are getting it twice. B-movie legends Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris are confirmed with Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke & Terry Crews said to be back... but apparently there's some doubts that Jet Li will be returning. Then there's Travolta and Cage! Wow... what a cast. Excitedly, Stallone says he will have a showdown with Van Damme in the movie;
€œWe€™ll have a big showdown between me and Van Damme, which has been anticipated for a long time, so it should be a good one.€
Stallone says Cage might be the last of the A-listers he hires for movie two;
€œI like using people that had a moment and then maybe have fallen on some hard times and give them another shot. So we€™re always looking for actors like Michael Biehn and Michael Pare. I like those kinds of guys. Someone did it for me and I like to see if I can do it for them.€
So you can guess he has already asked them to do the movie and they will if their schedules allow. This probably also adds credence to the rumor we ran recently that Robocop's Peter Weller was also circling a role... and he hasn't done anything interesting in years. Plus Stallone is looking for young blood;
€œWe also need some new blood in there, a Navy Seal-type, because with the Expendables none of them have 20-20 vision anymore. They need some help, man.€
Despite less than favourable reviews, including a controversial review from our very own Rob Beames, the original took over $275 million worldwide making it pretty inevitable that a sequel would soon follow. With direction this time coming from Brit Simon West, who more than proved his action chops with Con Air and The Mechanic, the film is expected to open in August 2012.