The Expendables 3 is a 2014 American action film directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt and Sylvester Stallone. It is the third installment in The Expendables franchise and the sequel to The Expendables (2010) and The Expendables 2 (2012). The film features an ensemble cast of largely action film actors consisting of Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The story follows the mercenary group known as The Expendables as they come into conflict with ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables' co-founder, who is determined to destroy the team. The film premiered in London on August 4, 2014 and was released theatrically on August 15, 2014, by Lionsgate. Unlike the first two films in the franchise, The Expendables 3 received a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating, which upset many fans of the franchise. Partly due to negative critical reviews and being leaked three weeks before its scheduled release, the film grossed $214.7 million worldwide on an estimated $90–100 million budget, becoming the lowest-grossing film of the franchise until its sequel, Expend4bles, was released in 2023.
Plot The Expendables—led by Barney Ross and formed by Lee Christmas, Gunner Jensen, and Toll Road—extract former member Doctor Death, a medic and knives specialist, from a dictator’s fortress prison-camp during his transfer on a train. They recruit Doctor Death to assist them in intercepting a shipment of bombs meant to be delivered to a warlord in Somalia. Arriving there, they reunite with Hale Caesar, who directs them to the drop point, where Barney is surprised to find out that the arms trader providing the bombs is Conrad Stonebanks, a disgraced former co-founder of the Expendables who went rogue and was presumed dead. In the ensuing firefight, The Expendables kill all but Stonebanks, who shoots Caesar. They are forced to retreat when Stonebanks drops a bomb on them from his helicopter, and Caesar is severely injured.
Back in the United States, CIA operative Max Drummer, the Expendables' new missions manager, gives Barney a mission to capture Stonebanks to bring him to the International Criminal Court to be tried for war crimes. Blaming himself for Caesar's injuries, Barney disbands the Expendables and leaves for Las Vegas, where he enlists retired mercenary-turned-recruiter Bonaparte to help him find a new team of younger mercenaries. The recruits include former U.S. Marine John Smilee, nightclub bouncer Luna, computer expert Thorn, and weapons expert Mars. Skilled sharpshooter Galgo asks to be included in the team, but Barney turns him down.
The four new team members rendezvous with Barney's rival Trench Mauser, returning a favor for Barney. Drummer has traced Stonebanks to Bucharest, where he is set to make an arms deal. Barney and the new recruits infiltrate an office building Stonebanks is using and, having to kill a few men in the process including arms buyer Goran Vata, capture Stonebanks. In transit, Stonebanks taunts Barney and explains why he betrayed the Expendables. Barney nearly kills him to shut him up, but, despite Stonebanks egging him on, he stands down. Stonebanks' men catch up to them, with the aid of his GPS Tracker, and fire a missile at the team's van. Barney is thrown into a river, while Smilee, Luna, Thorn, and Mars are captured by Stonebanks' crew. Barney kills Stonebanks' retrieval team and escapes.
Stonebanks sends Barney a video, challenging Barney to come after him and giving him his location in Azmenistan. While preparing to leave and mount a rescue alone, Barney is found by Galgo, who offers his services again. Barney accepts, later accompanied by the veteran Expendables. They rescue the young mercenaries, only to learn from Stonebanks that he has rigged the place with explosives with only 45 seconds left for them to explode. As both the young and veteran Expendables fight one another, Barney convinces them to work together to take down Stonebanks. As the final battle begins, Thorn uses a jammer device to delay the countdown, giving them just under half an hour before detonation. Stonebanks orders the Azmenistan army to attack the building with full force, including tanks and attack helicopters. Drummer and Trench arrive in a helicopter to help, alongside returning Expendables member Yin Yang.
The new and veteran members of the Expendables work together to kill Stonebanks' men. When a second wave moves in, Drummer lands on the building to evacuate the team. As everyone makes it to Drummer's chopper, Stonebanks personally attacks Barney after shooting him down. Having been forced to remove the armor and his weapon, Barney and Stonebanks engage in hand-to-hand combat. Both are evenly matched, but Barney knocks down Stonebanks before they both reach for their guns. Stonebanks shoots, but Barney gets the better of him. At his mercy, Stonebanks questions Barney about delivering him to the International Criminal Court. Barney coldly shoots Stonebanks in response. Seconds after Stonebanks' death, the batteries of Thorn's device run out, causing the building to explode and collapse. The team makes it to Drummer's helicopter and flies away to safety, as Barney clings to it from the outside. In the aftermath, Caesar recovers from his wounds, and Barney officially accepts Galgo, Smilee, Luna, Thorn, and Mars into the team. They all celebrate at a bar together.
Cast
Production
Development and writing In March 2012, cast member Randy Couture said a third installment of The Expendables might begin production in late 2012 after the release of The Expendables 2. In April 2012, Steven Seagal said he was offered a role in a third film. In August 2012, producer Avi Lerner confirmed that Nicolas Cage had been signed for the then-potential sequel. He also said that the producers intended to bring back the series' stars, attempting to have Mickey Rourke reprise his role, and had approached Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, and Wesley Snipes to play new roles. Sylvester Stallone said "We are thinking about different concepts—the third one is the hardest. The second is the natural progression. The third, that's when the air gets rare. We're thinking ambitiously about it, you now have to give audiences something they don't expect at all, Maybe, even going into a different genre". Also in August, Chuck Norris said he would not return for a sequel. On August 13, 2012, Jean-Claude Van Damme indicated that Stallone might include him in The Expendables 3 as Claude Vilain, brother of Jean Vilain. On October 31, 2012, it was confirmed that Nu Image and Millennium Films were in the process of pre-selling international distribution rights for The Expendables 3. On December 19, 2012, it was reported that Jackie Chan had agreed to join the sequel on the condition that he would have more than a minor role. Chan later dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.
In March 2013, Stallone confirmed he was writing a script for the sequel and that he intended for the film to be more humorous with moments of drama. Stallone also said that Seagal would not be in the film and that he wanted to cast more young actors in their mid-20s. In April 2013, Stallone announced that Patrick Hughes would direct the sequel. In May 2013, Chan, Snipes, Cage and Milla Jovovich were announced to be in advanced negotiations to join the film. In June 2013, Lionsgate announced that the film would be released on August 15, 2014. In July 2013, it was reported that actor Mel Gibson would portray the film's villain and later that month Stallone confirmed Gibson's involvement. Also in July, actor Kellan Lutz and professional fighters Victor Ortiz and Ronda Rousey were added to the cast. It was revealed that the film would feature several younger and technology-oriented action heroes who clash with the veteran Expendables. In August 2013, it was confirmed that Ford, Antonio Banderas and Glen Powell would join the cast and that Bruce Willis would not be reprising his role as Mr. Church. Willis's lack of involvement was cited as a disagreement over money with production sources indicating that Willis was offered $3 million for four days of shooting in Bulgaria but wanted $4 million. On September 17, 2013, Kelsey Grammer was announced to be in negotiations to join the film.
Filming Principal photography began on August 19, 2013, in Bulgaria and at the Nu Boyana Film studio in Sofia and ended on October 22. In September 2013, Terry Crews revealed in an interview that Jason Statham survived an on-set mishap when the truck he was driving plunged into the Black Sea after its brakes had failed. In a November 2013 interview, Randy Couture confirmed that filming had finished and that discussions for a fourth Expendables film were taking place.
Music
The film's score was composed by Brian Tyler. The soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records on August 12, 2014.
Release Marketing
On December 19, 2013, the first teaser trailer got released with the intent of showcasing the large cast of the movie. At 2014 CinemaCon, the official poster of the film was shown for the first time, although it only slightly differs from material shown before, featuring a white background instead of a black one. The marketing scheme of putting a huge emphasis on the film's ensemble cast of famous action actors was continued in early April when 16 character posters of the film's cast were released and divided over four websites for maximum exposure. One day later, the first trailer with actual footage from the film premiered, again highlighting the film's huge cast, being referred to as a "roll call trailer" by Lionsgate. At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Millennium Films hosted a special event promoting the film at the Carlton Hotel with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell and director Patrick Hughes attending. The event lasted the entire day and featured the cast driving down the Croisette in tanks.
On June 5, a new TV promo with new footage was released. Instead of highlighting the all-star cast as the previous ones, this trailer focused on the new additions to the cast, prominently Lutz, Ronda Rousey and Ortiz, contrasting their young characters with the more experienced ones of Stallone and Grammer. The same day, Stallone also released a behind the scenes video via his Twitter. On June 17, a long cinematic trailer was released, giving a first look at Gibson as Conrad Stonebanks as well as showcasing the film's story for the first time. A week later on June 23, the new banner was released, featuring all 17 cast members except Robert Davi. On June 4, a new TV trailer was released, containing new footage, although mostly consisting of footage already released. A longer version of the trailer was released a week later and one day after that, another TV trailer, themed to coincide with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was released. At 2014 ComicCon, 16 new character posters in pop art style were released.
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