Lundgren Interviews

Lundgren has been giving interviews on his new movie “Castle Falls” and inevitably EX4 comes up. He doesn’t say much but here are bits & pieces of different interviews:

ScreenRant: You also have The Expendables 4 coming up in 2022, which will include new cast members like Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais as the villain. What's it been like returning to the role of Gunner Jensen and working with a lot of the original cast?

Dolph Lundgren: Well, it's a lot of fun to come back with people you've worked with many times. Sly [Stallone] and I have made five movies now, and it was great seeing Randy Couture back, and 50 Cent and Megan Fox coming aboard. It's fun to play that character again, and he's a little insane.

There's something special each time because it's old school, kick-ass fights and firearms, and vehicles, and The Expendables isn't as heavy on visual effects, so it makes it special.

Comingsoon: This is a fun time, since you’ve got two blockbusters: Aquaman 2 and Expendables 4. How wild it is to do those back to back and around the same time? 

Lundgren: Yes, this is. It’s wild. It was strange that they both ended up shooting around the same time in London. So I was able to start on Aquaman and leave for two weeks, then return to Aquaman, which is now gone and then finish in Greece and Bulgaria. But it was because the people of Warner Bros. were all kind of helpful, but also Millennium Films. I know these guys from 20 years ago. They were so helpful to make that happen.

And it’s fun because Aquaman is a kind of film of perfectionism. They have a lot of money. Everything has to be perfect for the outfits, and the visual effects. Then you have Expendables, which is like a wild west show. Big personalities, the characters, and shooting, it’s just like an old-school action movie kickass. Aquaman is all perfectionism and the other one is, is kind of like a raw strength to some degree. They are different, but it’s fun to be part of both.

Looper: The Expendables 4" is currently in the works. Did you ever imagine that it would turn into the massive franchise that it's become today?

Lundgren: No, no, I didn't, certainly back in 2008, or '09 or something. You know, it was being directed by Sly and he's a very, very smart man. He created "Rocky," and "The Expendables" and I think the timing was good because he had old school fights, shootouts, and more of our visual effects. Kind of older guys who're washed up, that nobody wants, and they do these missions for the government, and if they get killed, nobody cares. I thought it was a good idea. So it's still being done. And in this one, new guys, new people, new people involved like Megan Fox. So there's kind of new blood, but the same basic concept, which I think we're hopeful is going to work.

Looper: Do you feel like those films connect you and your career to a new generation of moviegoers?

Lundgren: Yeah, to some degree they do. Yeah, I mean, I'm lucky because, it's a funny thing. I do an "Expendables," which is obviously a totally new audience because the kids, they don't know who the hell I am. They've seen me in "Aquaman," but I'm just a guy with a beard. With "Expendables," kids get to experience that kind of macho action from back when I started. When you carried these guns and the more ammo you had, the better. It was a bit of overkill. Biceps, big knives. And I think a lot of kids probably — that's why the first one did well, because kids haven't seen that before. And they're like, "Oh, this is good. That guy just got hit by a tank."

Looper: Do you have any great memories of some behind-the-scenes moments on those "Expendables" movies?

Lundgren: I do actually. On the first one, there is the first scene of the movie. It was great to work with Sly again, because I worked on setting it out in the first scene in the movie. I'm telling this joke that he wrote, of course, and then I show up, and I blow this pirate away. So tell him this joke. And try like four or five takes and Sly is like [goes into a perfectly nuanced Sylvester Stallone impersonation] "Do the joke." Finally, 15 takes. This is driving me crazy. I could kill this guy. Embarrassing. He was like, "OK." Fine. I got over it. And then I show up for ADR — where you do like a little voice replacement. So it's first up, and Sly is like [does impersonation again] "Guess which take?" And it was the first one the whole time.

Aintitcool: Well, I’m being told we have time for one more question so where are we at on THE EXPENDABLES 4?

Lundgren: Well, I did a week here in London on AQUAMAN 2 then I’m going back to do EXPENDABLES here and then in Greece. It’s basically same old: it’s big guns, big muscles, and vehicles; kick ass all the way through it. Bunch of new people; 50 Cent is in it, Megan Fox, Andy Garcia. Statham’s back, and me and Sly. I think it’s an interesting project. I think it’s a crapshoot, those movies. You never know. But I think it’ll do well ‘cause it has a good cast and certainly a shit-ton of action.

Salon: Anything you can reveal about your upcoming "Expendables" film and the appeal of that franchise? 

Lundgren: We're doing No. 4 now. We have new people in it: 50 Cent, Megan Fox, and Andy Garcia and a few others. I think it's still a strong franchise, but it's old-school action with shootouts, vehicles and machines. It's a macho kind of movie. It's fun to be part of it. Who knows how long it will go on? I enjoy doing both that and "Aquaman." They are both different movies. One is visual-effects driven, with a huge budget. The other one is souped-up Harley on steroids.