Veteran American actor Sylvester Stallone will no longer be a part of "The Expendables" after 12 years with the franchise.
Stallone made the announcement in a video published to Instagram, which featured him walking around the set of "The Expendables 4" on his final day of filming.
“The Expendables 4“ also features Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture returning to reprise their roles for the fourth installment in the action-packed franchise.
It will also feature newcomers 50 Cent, Megan Fox, and Tony Jaa.
“The Expendables 4” arrives from Lionsgate and Millennium Media and will see Statham as the primary star and Fox as the female lead.
Scott Waugh is directing from a screenplay by Spenser Cohen with revisions by Max Adams and John Joseph Connolly.
Stallone directed the first movie, which was released in 2010 and featured cameos by Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Despite mixed reviews and modest box office revenues, the movie received two sequels, 2012’s “The Expendables 2” and 2013’s “The Expendables 3”, which each starred Stallone and Statham.
“The Expendables 2” also starred Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the threequel featured Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, and Kelsey Grammer.
The franchise, which pays homage to the blockbuster action movies of the late ’80s and early ’90s, have collectively generated more than $800 million at the global box office.
The most recent movie, “The Expendables 3”, premiered in 2013, and since then the franchise’s future has been in question.
Talks about a fourth movie have been percolating for years but it didn’t officially get the green light until recently.
The actor described the decision to exit the series as “bittersweet”, though he noted that he is ready to pass the baton on to co-star Jason Statham and his capable hands.
The three-time Oscar nominee reflected on the “heart, energy, and humor” he is looking to bring all of his projects including those in the Expendables franchise.
He noted that the greatest thing is being able to provide movies and entertainment where maybe there is a little message in there because what he tries to convey in his successful movies is the human touch.
"Not so much the action; the action is self-evident, but it is just relating to the audience in a way that they can identify with whatever the mission is, with the characters at hand,” he added.
Stallone concluded his message by saying he is getting ready to accept the next challenge.
The actor is currently attached to Rowan Athale’s sci-fi feature "Little America" and Julius Avery’s drama movie "Samaritan".
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