Who are today’s young action movie stars? You might be tempted to say Daniel Craig or Vin Diesel, but they’re over 40. Jason Statham? Thirty-eight. Christian Bale? Turning thirty-seven this month. Even Sam Worthington is thirty-four, and it seems like he just got here. What’s my point? Hollywood hasn’t been producing many young action movie heroes, which is probably why we’re still turning to sexagenarians Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and quinqugenarian Bruce Willis for our action fix. In 2010 The Expendables, which starred Stallone (with Schwarzenegger and Willis in cameos) did great at the box office (which was expected), and so did the Bruce Willis action comedy Red (which was not expected). In fact, both did tremendously well in foreign markets, which cannot be said for most American films. So it’s no surprise that not only is Stallone actively working on The Expendables 2, but it was also announced that a sequel to Red is in the works too.
For those of you who missed it, Red was a surprise hit that was released at the end of 2010 about a group of ex-hitmen coming out of retirement. It starred oldies, but goodies, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman. While there’s no indication that any of these actors will be returning — who knows if there was any sequel clause in the contracts — Summit has commissioned Jon and Erich Hoeber, who wrote the original, to write the sequel. The original was loosely adapted from a comic series from Vertigo Comics, so it doesn’t seem likely that the sequel would adhere any closer to the original material.
The Hoebers must be some geniuses — their next film is the 2012 release Battleship, which, believe it or not, is based on the titular board game. If they can write a movie based on that, they can probably write one on just about anything.
Did you see Red? If so, what do you think about the possibility of a sequel? You have to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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