Jason Statham is a modern-day action hero with an extensive filmography spanning decades. He's starred in gritty standalone movies, like Wrath of Man. He's also led blockbuster action series including The Transporter and starred in Guy Ritchie classics like Snatch. While critics may say Statham doesn't have much range, particularly in his newer movies, fans of the UK-born star would argue that's part of his charm. To a certain extent, audiences have expectations going into a Statham movie, and often get precisely what they want.

The Crank star has also featured in several high-profile franchises in recent years. He's the perfect fit for the Fast and Furious universe as the stylish antihero Deckard Shaw. We've already mentioned The Transporter, but he led three successful movies in that franchise. More recently, fans enjoyed Statham as Jonas in The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench.

It's fair to say that Statham isn't known for box-office flops, but one long-standing series had a movie that performed so poorly that it may just never come back. The franchise is known for its iconic cast of veteran action heroes, with four movies under its belt. Statham stars alongside some of the biggest names in the genre, and the titles feel like love letters to 80s and 90s classics in many ways. Audiences were introduced to The Expendables in 2010, but the latest adventure casts doubt on a future title, even with Statham at the helm.

What Went Wrong With The Expendables Franchise?

The Expendables franchise started as a throwback to classic action movies in 2010. There was clearly an audience hungry for wild action titles with beloved stars of the genre. The Expendables movies went from strength to strength, though the most recent, titled Expend4bles in 2023, made a fraction of what the previous installments brought to the table.

A movie's performance at the box office doesn't necessarily dictate quality. However, it does reveal if audiences showed up at theaters, and the drop-off for the fourth Expendables movie is rather shocking. The Expendables 2 is the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, earning $314 million worldwide at the box office. The sequel, The Expendables 3, took less, at $214 million, but there was clearly still interest in the franchise.

Compared to the previous movies, Expend4bles took a sobering $37 million. It's hard to pinpoint what spelled disaster for the latest movie, but several beloved actors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jet Li, did not reprise their roles. Reviews were never great for the franchise, but they were particularly poor for the new film. Fans may have also grown tired of the formula after more than a decade of titles.

Could The Expendables Franchise Return With (Or Without) Statham & Stallone?

It's hard to say if The Expendables franchise could ever return after the latest movie. Even if the cast were willing, any company that may fund another project will look very closely at the financials, which would include the franchise as a whole. Statham is a modern-day action hero, and Stallone still has incredible star power. Both are capable of drawing audiences, though that arguably did not happen with the 2023 movie.

If another Expendables movie were greenlit without Statham and Stallone, there's a strong argument to be made that maybe a new IP would be better. Assuming Jet Li, Schwarzenegger, and Terry Crews didn't return like in Expend4bles, the cast would be dramatically different from the earlier movies.

A new cast doesn't necessarily doom a franchise to fail. Jurassic Park and Jurassic World are perfect examples of audiences accepting fresh faces. The issue with The Expendables is that it started as a high-action spectacle featuring veterans in the genre. Without them, future films would feel very different, as a special selling point of the series would be absent.

Jason Statham Has A Replacement For The Expendables

Fans of Jason Statham's filmography know he's starred in numerous action films recently, with no signs of slowing down. He may play similar characters in many of his newer projects, but audiences continue to show up to see a charismatic tough guy doing what he does best.

One of Statham's movies that did surprisingly well was 2024's The Beekeeper. The movie took $162 million at the box office on an estimated $40 million budget. Critics and general audiences reviewed the movie positively, with some fans proclaiming it Statham's best work in years.

We're specifically talking about The Beekeeper's performance because it did so well that a sequel is already in production. Jason Statham reprises his role as Adam Clay in the upcoming movie, and early plot details suggest the new story will further explore his mysterious past. The original The Beekeeper is a fast-paced revenge story, and surprisingly personal, as Clay fought to avenge his landlady who lost her life in a phishing scheme.

The project may not boast a massive cast of action superstars like The Expendables, but it evidently doesn't need to, and fans are excited for Clay's return.