Arnie’s Surprise 2023 Success Proves He’s Perfect To Take Over The Expendables (Without Stallone)

Summary

• Arnold Schwarzenegger’s success in Netflix hit FUBAR proves that audiences still love the action icon.
• The Expendables 4 received poor reviews and underperformed at the box office, potentially killing the series.
• Arnold’s character Trench could be the best choice to take over The Expendables franchise, offering a new perspective and potential for new cast additions.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big 2023 success could make him the ideal choice to take over The Expendables from old chum Sylvester Stallone. Expendables 4 started life as a planned spinoff focusing on Jason Statham’s character Christmas, which was fittingly dubbed A Christmas Story. The final version retained some of the ideas from this canned offshoot, since Statham’s character is very much the lead while the team dynamic is downplayed. Sadly, The Expendables 4 may have killed the series, as it received poor reviews and only grossed about half its production budget back.

It didn’t help that the series had been offscreen for almost a decade either, following the disappointing performance of the third entry. Where The Expendables movies go next is unclear, but a fifth entry that follows a similar vein to the last sequel is very unlikely. If the saga is to have any a future it will need to be creatively overhauled, which would mean bringing in a new cast of characters. That said, a soft reboot might be the best way to proceed, retaining some key characters while bringing in new blood.

Netflix’s FUBAR Proves Arnold Should Take Over The Expendables

Arnold’s action-comedy hit proves audiences still love the screen icon

Notably absent from Expendables 4 was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Trench, a friendly rival to Stallone’s mercenary leader Barney. One of the major selling points of the original was that it finally united action legends Arnie, Stallone and Bruce Willis onscreen, but Schwarzenegger’s role across the first three entries amounted to little more than extended cameos. After several movie flops in recent years, Arnie scored a major streaming hit with Netflix’s FUBAR in 2023. This played like a riff on his 1994 spy comedy True Lies, except this time it was a father and daughter who realize they’re both spies.

FUBAR received mixed reviews, but Schwarzenegger’s undeniable charisma still powered it, and it will return for a second season. The show also proved that despite some duds like Terminator: Dark Fate, there’s still a willing audience for the action icon. Having Arnold’s Trench take over The Expendables from Stallone could be the best path forward since he’s a familiar character but one who can offer a different perspective on the mercenary saga.

Schwarzenegger also co-starred with Stallone in the 2013 prison break thriller Escape Plan.

Plus, Trench has been completely underutilized in the past, with the films burdening Arnie with lame one-liners that pull from his past roles. An Expendables 5 that puts Arnold front and center and pairs him with other action greats – the series has yet to add the likes of Jackie Chan, Keanu Reeves or Charlize Theron, for instance – could be the shot in the arm the property badly needs.

FUBAR Is Arnold’s First Major Solo Hit In 20 Years

Arnie’s post-Governor movie career has been mixed

Arnold’s movie star heyday came to a close towards the end of the ’90s, and his move into politics saw him take a long break from the big screen. Audiences also moved on from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action movies of yesteryear, so comeback vehicles such as The Last Stand or Sabotage met with little success. In fact, Arnold’s only real hits during this era were The Expendables – which were sold on the ensemble cast instead of one particular actor. That’s why FUBAR is a turning point for Arnold’s latter-day career, as it’s his first big solo hit since 2003’s Terminator 3.

Even 2015’s Terminator: Genisys – which despite its faults, was a financial hit – moved the star to more of a supporting role, rather than focusing on him as the lead. That shows that with the right material, viewers will still turn up for an Arnold vehicle. Not only could another Expendables with Trench take the films in the right direction, but it could be the exact kind of elder statesman role Schwarzenegger needs on the big screen.

Arnold May Not Want To Take Over The Expendables

Arnie would want Stallone’s blessing to take the lead

Arnold passed on an Expendables 4 return in favor of FUBAR, which was a wise move for more reasons than one. Arnold could also pass on an Expendables return if he doesn’t receive the blessing of good friend Stallone, who also created the franchise. Part of the appeal of working on the movies for Arnie was being paired with his former action rival, so being offered the lead role and not getting to work with Stallone could be a dealbreaker for him.

In all likelihood, a future Expendables will wipe the slate clean and not bring back any of the original cast. The smell of the fourth movie’s failure will take a few years to recede, and there’s little demand for more installments at the moment. Still, if a new sequel has to happen in the next few years, promoting Trench to the head of the unit isn’t the worst way to go.

• 

  The Expendables

  Created by:

  David Callaham

  First Film:

  The Expendables

  Cast:

  Jason Statham, Curtis Jackson, Megan Fox, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Randy Couture, Andy Garcia

  Movie(s):

  The Expendables, The Expendables 2, The Expendables 3, Expend4bles, Expendables 5

  Video Game(s):

  The Expendables 8-Bit, The Expendables 2 Videogame, The Expendables 2: Deploy & Destroy