Production on The Expendables 3 is underway as director Patrick Hughes has begun lensing on location in Bulgaria and at Nu Boyana Studios in Sofia. With the start of production the complete cast was also announced which includes Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger as members of the returning cast with new cast members including Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Kellan Lutz, MMA star Ronda Rousey, welterweight boxing champion Victor Ortiz and Glen Powell.
The official synopsis was also revealed:
In The Expendables 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
Some of the names rumored included Nicolas Cage, Milla Jovovich and Jackie Chan, but obviously that didn’t work out. Either that or they are saving a few surprises for the final product, but knowing the blunt-force trauma of this franchise, I’m not expecting a lot of surprises.
The Expendables 3 will hit theaters on August 15, 2014.
