Mel Gibson and Antonio Banderas Join ‘Expendables 3,’ All Other Aging Action Stars to Follow Suit

By  · Published on August 9th, 2013

You gotta hand it to Mel Gibson — he might have said horrific things about his ex-girlfriend and almost every minority under the sun, but he just keeps chugging along. The actor seems to have embraced his now-repugnant public image by taking villainous roles in both Robert Rodriguez’ Machete Kills and, as was announced today, The Expendables 3.

Joining the cast alongside Gibson is Antonio Banderas, who Sylvester Stallone referred to as “a consummate actor and a gentleman” in a clear shot at Bruce Willis, who reportedly dropped out because he wasn’t getting paid enough.

If the “old man action movie” trend is to continue (and as long as Stallone is still breathing, it probably will), at least The Expendables series understands that these movies should be big dumb tongue-in-cheek fun. And that’s exactly what Expendables 3 is shaping up to be: a great big party for every action star under the sun (minus Bruce Willis) to hang out, spew one-liners, and make things explode.

This third installment has already racked up a long list of new names: Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovich, Wesley Snipes, Nicolas Cage, and Harrison Ford have all been recruited. A few more sequels from now and the Expendables films will just be Sly Stallone sitting in a small room as an endless stream of Hollywood stars enter, shoot a gun, say a quip, and are then quickly shuffled out of the room to allow in the next celebrity.

Personally, I can’t wait to see that film. [Entertainment Weekly]