The Expendables franchise was created by a guy whoʼs only ever really made three movies in his entire career, then thrown out a ton of sequels and lived off the back of them. Of course, I am talking about Sylvester Stallone. In the mid ʻ70s, Stallone wrote and starred in the Oscar-winning Rocky, then made five direct sequels off its success (Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V, Rocky Balboa), with a spin-off, Creed, coming later this year. In 1982, the mumbling action star made First Blood, the first release in the Rambo franchise, which subsequently generated three sequels (Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, Rambo). It has been reported that Stallone is currently penning a fifth Rambo movie, too. Oh, brother! Jump ahead to this decade, and Stallone is continuing his trend of making one successful box office hit, then milking it for all it's worth. The Expendables 3 was released last year to expected poor reviews, which was followed up by equally poor box office takings (although the movie leaking online before its release didnʼt help matters). Nonetheless, a fourth Expendables is something that doesnʼt tickle the taste buds. If there is one slight positive to gain from the announcement of The Expendables 4, itʼs that the movie will return to its R-rated certificate after a disappointing PG-13 outing. The third movie alienated its hardcore fans by trying to broaden its appeal and attempt to open up to a more family- friendly audience. Youʼd be silly to think that The Expendables 4 was the only movie in the pipeline for this franchise. In October 2012, Millennium Films announced plans for an all-female version of the film titled, The ExpendaBelles. So far no casting has been announced although Meryl Streep, Cameron Diaz and Milla Jovovich have all been in negotiations to star in the spin-off. This idea seems to be following a craze thats formulating in Hollywood these days: female- driven reboots or spin-offs. When will it all end?
