Summary
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The Expendables franchise almost had some major Hollywood actors as its next villain, including Jack Nicholson and Bruce Willis.
- Iko Uwais plays the villain in Expend4bles, bringing a new direction and showcasing his impressive stunt and martial arts skills.
- Other potential villains considered were Bill Goldberg, Dwayne Johnson, Hulk Hogan, and even Jean-Claude Van Damme's character's twin brother.
The Expendables franchise is known for starring world-famous macho movie stars, but The Expend4bles cast isn't quite as impressive, but it does introduce several big-name performers such as Megan Fox, 50 Cent, and Andy Garcia.
the fourth Expendables movie almost took several entirely different forms. Between Academy Award-winning Hollywood royalty, retired wrestlers, and the most bankable movie star in the world right now, the studio seemingly struggled to pin down a villain actor for years.
6 Jack Nicholson
Expend4bles arrives after a nine-year gap in the series, but the sequel was still seemingly in development all those years. The first discussion about its villain was in 2014 when Sylvester Stallone mentioned that he wanted to cast Jack Nicholson as the villain. Not only was Nicholson considered for The Expendables 3, but Stallone thought he could get the three-time Academy Award winner on board for Expend4bles (via IGN). The Expendables franchise lead said, "There are still interesting avenues out there. I want to get, if possible, the most unique actors from the past and just put ‘em out there once and for all, you know?"
Given that Nicholson is 46 years older than Iko Uwais, the villain clearly underwent a lot of changes, especially as there's no way that Nicholson would have been able to perform the stunts that Uwais can. Nevertheless, after playing the Joker in 1989's Batman and Frank Costello in The Departed, Nicholson would have made a great villain in the Expendables franchise. There's no doubt that he would have treated the movie like the schlocky popcorn flick it is and been totally over the top. However, chasing down the actor seemed like a fool's errand; while he isn't officially retired, Nicholson hasn't acted since 2010.
5 Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis appeared in the first two Expendables movies as Mr. Church, a mysterious CIA Agent who has something of a love/hate relationship with Barney (Sylvester Stallone). Where Mr. Church stands morally has always been ambiguous, and though the character rescued Barney and his crew at the end of The Expendables 2, it was hinted throughout the film that Church was a villain. The series would have likely gone in the direction of exploring Mr. Church's true motivations and his links to enemies and terrorists, but that was ruined when Willis turned down The Expendables 3.
After negotiations with Willis fell through, Stallone called the Die Hard actor "greedy and lazy" after he turned down $3 million for four days of work. Willis wanted $4 million for the job, and neither Stallone nor Willis would budge. If Willis had accepted the $3 million and appeared in the threequel, the Expendables series could have looked a lot different, and Expend4bles could have seen Willis as the series' overarching antagonist. However, Bruce Willis's retirement from acting due to his declining health would have also kept the actor from playing the villain in Expend4bles.
4 Bill Goldberg
William Goldberg is a professional wrestler, and while he hasn't broken into Hollywood like other wrestlers have, he'd fit right at home in the Expendables franchise. There's no doubt that Expendables fans want Bill Goldberg to the franchise, as there was even a petition to get him cast in The Expendables 3 on Change.org. While that didn't happen, it seems as if Sylvester Stallone and Lionsgate still listened to the fans, as Goldberg's name was being thrown around during Expend4bles' development (via Entertainment.ie.). Unfortunately, that's as far as it went, as Goldberg isn't part of the Expend4bles cast, even though he'd make a great henchman or secondary antagonist.
3 The Rock
Dwayne Johnson expressed major interest in becoming the Expend4bles villain both in 2014 and 2022 (via CinemaBlend). However, it isn't clear if he was a serious contender when Sylvester Stallone and Lionsgate were considering who would play the villain or if it was simply Johnson trying to wish the casting into existence. The actor explained, "I don't want to be on their team and be buddies with them. F*** that noise. I want to hunt every single one of them down and tell them to 'send your soul to heaven cause your ass is mine.'"
It's hard to see how that would work given that Dwayne Johnson's contract states that he can't ever lose a fight. That stipulation led to Johnson and Vin Diesel's infamous Fast & Furious feud, and given the big personalities of the Expendables cast, that could have led to more trouble. Nevertheless, it would have been great to see Johnson as the Expend4bles villain, and if there's any actor who deserves a spot in the action-hero franchise line-up, it's The Rock. There's always a chance Johnson could be the villain for The Expendables 5.
2 Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was also considered for the Expend4bles villain. The former wrestler and Rocky 3 star revealed that he and Sylvester Stallone had serious talks about him playing the villain, explaining, "We’re trying to figure out a way to maybe turn me into the most evil man in the world. Y’know, Stallone gave me my first break, and he’s been a great friend." However, Hogan's age might have gotten in the way, as the entertainer added, "Can I still run; can I still jump? Well, not as fast or not as high, but I think Hollywood could find a good stuntman to help me out."
1 Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme has already played an Expendables villain, and he's the best of the series, as he played Jean Vilain in The Expendables 2 and totally chewed the scenery. While Barney killed Vilain by cutting his head clean off, Van Damme still pitched his return in Expend4bles. In 2014, the actor responded to a question about the possibility of a Jean Vilain comeback, saying, "He may even create a stronger character than Claude Vilain, the twin brother of Jean Vilain." Given that Jean's last name is literally Vilain, an appearance from Jean's twin brother would be in keeping with the movie's self-aware silliness.
