The Expendables 4 Adds A Legendary Actor To The Cast

For a while, "The Expendables 4" seemed like it wasn't happening. The latest film in "The Expendables" franchise appears to have been in the works even before the August 2014 release of "The Expendables 3" (via Digital Spy), but Deadline reported in 2017 that Sylvester Stallone left the production as a result of creative differences. In January 2018, however, Stallone hinted on Instagram that he was getting in shape for an action movie. 

A couple of months later fellow star Randy Couture told The Arnold Fans that filming would start in August that year. There have been some delays since then, which may have discouraged fans. In March 2020, Couture said in an interview with The Action Elite that he'd seen a script, but production hadn't yet started. And that was just before the COVID-19 pandemic closed down movie productions pretty much entirely. Later in 2020 and then 2021, signs of progress popped up occasionally in interviews and on social media.

Recently, however, "Expendables" fans have had more to get excited about. On August 30, Lionsgate and Millennium Media officially announced the film, with stars Stallone, Couture, Jason Statham, and Dolph Lundgren all set to return. The Hollywood Reporter also reported that the stars would be joined by newcomers to the franchise Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Tony Jaa, and Megan Fox. 

Now, yet another star will be joining the pack, and he's a certified legend.

Andy Garcia, who has just finished filming the remake of "Father of the Bride," will be joining the cast of "The Expendables 4." 

Garcia, whose career dates back to 1978, is no stranger to the action genre, of course. His movies have included "Ocean's 11" and its sequels, along with classics like "The Untouchables," "The Godfather Part 3," "Stand and Deliver," "American Roulette," "Internal Affairs," "When a Man Loves a Woman," and so many others. On television, he was most recently seen on the short-lived ABC television series inspired by the life of activist Erin Brockovich, "Rebel." As a result of a stellar body of work, he's always in demand. Along with "Father of the Bride," he's just completed three other projects coming out in 2021 and 2022.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote that his character will be a CIA agent assigned to accompany the crew of veteran mercenaries on its next, dangerous mission. Beyond that, all we know about the plot comes from Instagram posts Stallone made on August 17 and then on August 22, when the actor said he was getting ready to film "The Christmas Story" with "Jason and the gang." He said the story will be a spin-off, and the working title means its presumably focused on Statham's character, whose name is Lee Christmas. Or maybe "The Expendables" is looking to dispatch "Die Hard" as the action holiday movie of choice? 

Production begins in October, so more news may be forthcoming soon.