Sylvester Stallone is reportedly done with the Expendables franchise

A fourth Expendables movie could be in jeopardy.

Your feelings about the previous three installments of the franchise will dictate whether or not you consider this to be good or bad news. For some the franchise was a wet dream of 80’s tough guy action nostalgia. For others it was an assault to the senses (and sensibilities) that won’t seem to end.

According to Deadline, Sylvester Stallone will no longer be involved with the franchise. Stallone, who starred in the first three movies as Barney Ross and directed the original installment, has reportedly left the development of a fourth movie after several disagreements with Avi Lerner.

The report says that the pair have disagreed on some key issues including the choice of director, elements of the script and even the production house that would provide the special effects. It’s thought that Stallone’s biggest concern is diminishing returns on a franchise in which he is linked. After the success of Creed, Stallone reportedly wants to keep future work up to the same standard.

While the sources referenced by Deadline say Stallone has walked away, Lerner seems confident that the dispute can be resolved.

“We’ve got disagreements with Sly, but we’ve had them for over a year and a half,” he says. “Right now, each one has an opinion. We agreed on 95% of things, but there are certain things in production we don’t agree on. I don’t think it’s over, but write whatever you want. In my opinion, it’s not dead.”

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