Expend4bles Redband Trailer Spotlights Megan Fox, 50 Cent, & More New Blood

The brand-new trailer for "The Expend4bles" makes one thing abundantly clear: it's rated R.

Against all odds, "The Expendables" franchise has managed to persevere despite being stuck in limbo for nearly a decade. The series first kicked off in 2010 with Sylvester Stallone in the director's chair. The premise was simple: rope in every (male) action star known to mankind and put them in one giant, R-rated explosion-fest. With an all-star cast comprising of Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and more, "The Expendables" was box office gold, grossing over $270 million worldwide. 

For Lionsgate, "The Expendables" was the perfect action franchise that they could mine and expand upon. After all, Hollywood has no shortage of action stars and machismo personalities, making "The Expendables" the perfect excuse to bring them all together. Stallone stepped away from directing duties but returned in a starring role for "The Expendables 2," which proved to be equally successful. And in 2014, audiences rushed to their local multiplex for "The Expendables 3," which notably felt... different. The threequel abandoned the franchise's historical R-rating in favor of a modest, wide-appealing PG-13 grade. Naturally, fans of the "The Expendables" were disappointed with this creative direction, giving it the lowest-rated audience score for the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes. Following the tepid respond to the threequel, it looked like "The Expendables" were dead. 

But the dead clearly don't die, with the latest trailer for "The Expend4bles" confirming that the film has received an R-rating. While heavyweights like Schwarzenegger and Willis are nowhere to be found, franchise mainstays like Stallone and Statham are joined by the likes of Megan Fox, 50 Cent, and more for what should be another chaotic and action-packed entry.

The second trailer for "The Expend4bles" kicks off with a narrator (remember those?) reading the pleas of fans asking the creatives to make the film R-rated. "We heard you loud and clear," the narrator says. Naturally, the trailer makes it a point to drive home just how bombastic, expletive-heavy, action-packed, gory, and sexualized the fourth "Expendables" outing is. It's definitely not nuanced but, then again, who goes to these films for subtlety?

While concrete plot details are slim, the trailer does an exceptional job of highlighting the newcomers to the franchise. Perhaps the most notable inclusion is "Jennifer's Body" star Megan Fox, who joins the film as Gina. Joining the "Transformers" headliner is the ever-iconic 50 Cent, who is set to debut as Easy Day. The brand new look at the Scott Waugh-directed film also highlights Tony Jaa's skills as a martial artist and Levy Tran's competence with a long-rage, nunchuck-like weapon. Iko Uwais, Andy Garcia, and Jacob Scipio are also seen joining in on the fun. 

Overall, "The Expend4bles" looks to be a good, self-aware time at the movies and should be the perfect R-rated outing for hardcore fans of the franchise. If all goes well, "The Expend4bles" could breathe new life into the franchise, potentially kicking off a brand new trilogy. The action landscape has considerably changed since "The Expendables 3" hit cinemas back in 2014, so it's definitely exciting to see the franchise lean more into self-awareness and diversity, both in terms of its stars and action execution. 

"The Expend4bles" hits cinemas on September 22.