Rourke in EX3 After All???

Is Sly trying to pull a fast one on us? According to another Bulgarian online news article, Rourke has arrived on location. The translation is as follows:

"Later Ivan Portnih with Sylvester Stallone look of the footage in the tent turned into a makeshift assembly. Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes and even told the mayor details of the action sequences involving.

"We were greeted very kindly by the team, the actors were friendly and shared some excellent impressions of the city. Were very intrigued by the lines of the oldest processed gold treasure discovered near Varna, which gave them," said Ivan later Portnih.

The "Invincible" 3 starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harrison Ford. Mickey Rourke even arrived at the port of Varna on Wednesday morning with a big "Mercedes G-Class." The super expected to go in theaters next August."

Our very own Andrew adds this:

According to sources that I personally trust....it is being said that Mickey Rourke will be in THE EXPENDABLES 3. Now, let the speculation begin. The fact that he was not listed in the Press Release from Lionsgate leads one to believe that he could be killed off early by Mel Gibson. Or maybe it is a flashback scene. Who knows at this point, but what we do know is that it is great to have Mickey back!

Andrew

If this is indeed true, I am super-excited. I was bummed when his name was not on the official cast list. But this could really make sense. Sly said he had "mountains of surprises" and "Mighty Mick is back!" on his Twitter account. Is Rourke on a mission with them? Does he get killed? By Conrad Stonebanks? Great news that I hope is not false reporting. EX3 is gonna be EPIC!

Things Heating Up for Sly and Co.!

An incredible shot from the set of EX3!

A Few Words From Andrew About EX3

Andrew here reporting on what is going to be the MOTHER OF ALL ACTION MOVIES with THE EXPENDABLES 3. So far EXBLOG has been keeping everyone up-to-date with all the set pics and videos and airport arrivals etc. Well come this weekend things get even BIGGER and BETTER because Arnold, Mel and Ford will be joining in on the fun and excitement thus far.

Little is known about who Ford plays. Will he be a C.I.A. guy a la Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) and gives the team the big mission, will he be an ex Expendable who is a gun wielding bad ass like Chuck Norris was in EX2 or could he possibly be a mysterious bad guy. Stay tuned...

Mel as a pumped up villain has all of us...well, pumped! He has never gotten into this kind of crazy shape before and the fact that he has hit the gym to play Conrad in EX3 leads us to believe he is going to have some amazing hand-to-hand fight scenes in the film as well as get in on some of the big action set pieces. Stay tuned...

As for Arnold...he has been hitting the gym like it was the 1990's if you look at recent pics of the man. Trench is going to be in on the action once more, but Arnold is going to take things up a notch. In EX1 he filmed for 4 hours. In EX2 he filmed for 4 days. With EX3..well...he arrives in Bulgaria this weekend and EXBLOG will have all the coverage and possibly find out how long Arnold will film for (hopefully at least 2 weeks). Stay tuned...

Andrew

New Set Pics

Even though the set is heavily secured, anybody getting close to the set is chased off by security guards and nobody is allowed to bring cameras or phones on set, pictures of the set keep slipping through.

Varna's port has been transformed into somalia.

Producer Avi Lerner spoke about a big action scene involving a chopper yesterday. This might be a glimpse of that chopper.

This Time It Gets Bloody!

Varna's Mayor Ivan Portnih visited the set of Expendables 3 today, which gives us a closer look at some beaten up Expendables!

Looks like this time they really get their hands dirty!

EX3 Character Names?!

IMDB has published the character names of EX3 new comers, not sure how reliable it is but it's worth taking a look at. We already knew Gibson's character name Conrad, here's the rest of the cast: 

Ford as Max Drummer

Banderas as Matador!!

Snipes as Surgeon

Think what you want, but again IMDB is not always reliable!

Gibson On His Way

Martin Riggs himself, Mel Gibson, will be in Bulgaria by the weekend. Obviously, from his recent picture, he has been keeping in tremendous shape. He will be the toughest villain yet in this franchise. I can't wait to see what he will bring to his character. I certainly hope there is a great, extended fight scene between him and one of the good guys.

Ronda Rousey is on her way also. She just Tweeted - "Last day of training in LA before leaving for Sofia Bulgaria to film Expendables 3...."

Another Bulgarian news article translates as...

"Help our boat with divers guard and watch over the security of stuntmen and actors Sylvester Stallone's action "Expendables 3" which started filming at sea.Following the agreement with Varna port set to move in 6 hours 10 berth at the pier. "Somali" chase boats on water at 35-40 knots, equivalent to 50-60 km / h and there is a risk or a camera man come off the board. Then trained divers jump into the sea to rescue equipment and people. Ship "Ilse" in the same berth was ready to load Bulgarian grain, but waited to take the picture. According to unofficial information dock warehouses to the port were from early in the morning Sylvester Stallone and Jason Staten. Than boats and a helicopter flew dangerously .Varna Mayor Ivan Portnih accepted in his cabinet Hollywood producer and owner of "New Image" Avi Lerner. "Much like the location of the port of Varna, which is very suitable for filming. Filming with a helicopter - a great action movie with a big budget," said the producer.He invited the Mayor set to meet with the stars of American cinema production - Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Jason Staton. Over 1,200 people are hired for the shoot in Varna, said the guest. During the meeting they discussed the possibilities of tax incentives for foreign producers."

And yet one more...

Shortly before filming of "Expendables 3" in Bulgaria two glvanite actors Jason Statham and Wesley Snipes is popekoha near the Black Sea, according to "Monitor".They went to the beach of "Riviera" to Varna and although he tried not to fight in the eyes were immediately seen by their fans. Some of them even managed to be photographed with their pets and their autograph.Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Wesley Snipes arrived in Bulgaria on Sunday late night. They were housed in incognito hotel "Imperial".Yesterday began the first day of shooting of "The Expendables 3" near the shipyard "Bulyard" in Varna. Because of Sly, Statham and Snipes team of Hollywood super extras are banned to import phones, cameras and any filming equipment. All who enter the set are checked.On site is built decor, which should resemble landscapes from Somalia. For this purpose, since dawn of the factory buses arrived with statins. They are selected mainly among blacks students in the country. They will be guarding the Somali Mafia, whose role is played by Wesley Snipes. At least 500 people were on the set.These days expected sea capital to arrive and the other stars of "The Expendables 3".


Photos in Varna will continue until the middle of next week.

Good stuff, folks. This movie is gonna be EPIC!

The EXBlog New Team

I'm pleased to announce that EXBlog has a new team of EXBloggers: Andrew, Jeff B & Robin. They will be bringing the freshest and latest news on EX3 every minute of the day, 24/7. With the new team we have now full time zone coverage between Europe and North America!

New TEAM a Blessing! Best Group of the year... EXBlog Looking Fresh and Strong...

Awesome Video From the Set!

Just in from Bulgaria....check it out!

Amazing New Set Pics!

Fresh in, we have some great pics! First is of Terry Crews, with Sly and Co.

And more various pics from the set. Note in the top pic, is the entire EX team, minus Jet Li, plus Snipes, who is on top of the cab on the blue truck. Looks like he is indeed a good guy.

So awesome to see these so early in production. Once they move to the studio, it may be harder to get pics.

First Peek at a Somalian Bad Guy

Statham Filming Already

Another quick update:

Varnautre.bg is reporting the following (Another poor translation...LOL):

"In the second day of shooting lens Varnautre.bg capture Chan Jason Statham to walk off the set topless in shorts. Probably just completed action scenes with his participation because his left cheek was smeared with soot. Photos continue to be conducted under unprecedented security measures within the plant "Bulyard." Dozens of security guards vigilantly guard the area, where caravans of stars and that of catering, from prying eyes. Guards chase anyone who dared to get close to the fence."

Chan? Is Chan really in EX3? I think the translation is so weird, so I would say no.

The seaport location is impressive! I really hope whatever problems with filming permits were taken care of. I can see some cool-ass battles taking place here!

New Location Pic

Jeff here,

Elrey needed some help, so I will do my best to keep us all updated on any set pics and news leaks from the EX3 production.

A new pic has surfaced, and we can clearly see what looks like Somalian pirates on the seaport location.

Also, a Bulgarian news report has said the following (poorly translated, of course!):

"Fresh coastal fish Bulgarian wines and cuisine most often order Sylvester Stallone and his colleagues from "The Expendables 3" of the sea.

Getting in the holiday club "Riviera" where stays the production team arrive two Hollywood actors. Wesley Snipes and Terry Crews, who participated in the previous two parts of the action, stay on Saturday. Other colleagues - Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren arrive there a day later.

They have very different requirements from other guests in the club - they want every day in their room to have a variety of fruits and mineral water. But not expensive, and foreign and Bulgarian. They do not want to have guards in front of every room and even bring their own fitness equipment. Total production of 110 people are accommodated in "Riviera".

Like everyone else, and Stallone and his fellow dinner at the resort, without wanting to be separated from other guests. They do it late at night, but not to avoid about other people's attention, because they work late.

On Sunday night, sitting at the bar three hours, and talk, and early yesterday morning to leave the set of the shipyard in Varna.

Hollywood stars and enjoy 24-hour room service. Each of them being friendly, but none of the staff did not bother them for autographs or photos.

Stallone, Snipes, Statham, Lundgren and Crews are only around the star cast who will work on the sea. The "Riviera" and the team they will remain until 24 August, the newspaper "24 hours".

The "Expendables 3" will involve more famous actors. These include Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Arnold Schwarzenegger. They are also expected to arrive in Bulgaria, and the work on the film will take 3 months."

Glad to hear that no one is acting like divas on set or around the hotel. We all know the Wesley Snipes stories of him on the set of the Blade movies. Hopefully, prison straightened him out. Still no word on when Jet Li arrives. I certainly hope he is not only in another cameo again.

Lundgren in Bulgaira

Lundgren is in Bulgaria now as expected. Click here to see a video of him.

He also said: "We will shoot in Varna, also in Sofia, and around Bulgaria. I'm here for a month and then I'll be back again in October"

EXBlogman's Final Post - Handing off to Elrey

Just came back from my business trip to find out the official EX3 cast & synopsis. Thanks Elrey for keeping the Blog up and running for the past few days.

For those who have been reading this blog from the time Jean & I started writing on EX2 back in November 2011, remember that I  had decided to stop the Blog after I attended the Premiere of EX2 in August 2012 and posted my final review. EX2 was it for me. You have to understand that I'm a huge fan of the 80-90s action genre and more specifically the genre that was represented by icons such as Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Van Damme, Norris & Seagal. 

The reason I decided to come back for an EX3 Blog was because many of you asked me to & I was given the impression that the 3rd installment would top EX2. Although the final cast of EX3 is great, I don't believe it tops its prequel. Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of Gibson and the Mad Max/Lethal Weapon franchises, I believe Ford is a great actor and Snipes is a fantastic action star. But it doesn't cut it for me. First the exclusion of Willis was a huge blow (although very disappointed by his strange behavior), then the omission of Seagal & Chan was a complete turn-off! Plus I'm not too excited by the addition of those young folks and the idea of a younger group of Expendables.

Having said all that and given my busy life, I wont find the passion to continue dedicating extra time to update this blog. So I have decided to stop writing and hand off the EXBlog to my friend Elrey who seems to be more passionate about EX3 than I am (specially with the addition of Banderas!).

So this is my farewell for now, have fun with the development of EX3 - I'm sure it'll be a great movie. I will definitely watch it, probably wont get an invitation to the Premiere this time, but will be there on the opening day. Ciao!

EX3 Cast & Synopsis Released; Cage, Chan, Rourke, Seagal & Jovovich Absent from Cast List

SANTA MONICA, CA (August 19, 2013) – Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Millennium Films will begin principal photography today on THE EXPENDABLES 3, the third installment of THE EXPENDABLES action-thriller franchise, with production shooting on location in Bulgaria and at Nu Boyana Studios in Sofia.

THE EXPENDABLES 3 will feature Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to their roles in the first two films with Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford joining the all-star cast along with Kellan Lutz, MMA star Ronda Rousey, welterweight boxing champion Victor Ortiz and Glen Powell.

Patrick Hughes (RED HILL) will direct the film, with veteran Dan Bradley (The BOURNE franchise; MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, QUANTUM OF SOLACE) directing the second unit. THE EXPENDABLES 3 is written by Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt, who previously teamed on OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, and Sylvester Stallone. Avi Lerner, Kevin King-Templeton, Danny Lerner and Les Weldon are producing THE EXPENDABLES 3. Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson and John Thompson are executive producing. Lionsgate will release THE EXPENDABLES 3 in North America and the UK on August 15, 2014.

In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.

The production will be overseen by Lionsgate’s Jason Constantine and Eda Kowan.
 

EXBlog Note: Disappointment by the absence of Seagal & Chan...

EX3 First Images

EX3 has started filming with Stallone, Statham & Snipes. Click on the link to see more images. Note that Sly doesn't wear any facial hair!

Lundgren on his way to Bulgaria

 

A certain Anton David Jeftha ‏@KingDavid tweeted the following message with a picture of himself and Lundgren:

 

"Farewell party for the legend Dolph Lundgren before he leaves to shoot #Expendables3"

It shouldn't take long before we see Lundgren appear in Bulgaria over the next couple of days.

Snipes Good or Bad?

Varnautre a local news website in Varna is reporting today that a source close to production has informed them that negotiations between EX3 production and the port authorities have failed and the Somalian action scenes will not be shot in the harbor but the production will still proceed with filming the scenes that take place in the sea. Stallone is looking for another harbor in Bulgaria now.

Rumor also has it that Snipes will play an African mobster although he hinted at hoping to play a good guy in his short interview given at his arrival in Sofia. The source has also stated that things are kept extremely secret!

Also the Bulgarian news outlet 24chasa claims that Statham should arrive today and Gibson, Schwarzenegger & Cage will arrive at the end of next week!

Couture On His Way, Crews Already Chilling With Snipes!

 
Couture tweeted a couple of hours ago that he was on his way to Bulgaria. Expect pictures of him and maybe other stars tomorrow thru the Bulgarian news outlets!

Crews is already in Bulgaria and chilling with Snipes. He posted this picture on his twitter account less than an hour ago! I guess the Bulgarian media missed him.

The Chan-Seagal Rumor Persists Overseas

The largest Chinese website Baidu has the following cast for EX3 on their movie page:

Sylvester Stallone, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Also one of the major Bulgarian news outlets has written an article today on a select number of EX3 cast members: Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes & Kellan Lutz

The Chan-Seagal rumor is well alive overseas!

Rousey's Filiming Start

Hard-core action fans may not all care for Rousey, just a small piece of news about her arrival date in Bulgaria: she's planned to fly there on Aug 20 to begin filming for her role in EX3 which, according to a working draft of the script, is no bit part.

Source: MMAJunkie 

Breaking News: Snipes Arrives in Sofia

According to a Bulgarian news outlet (link and see picture of him coming out of the airport), Snipes has landed in Sofia. The previous report announcing him as one of the first actors to arrive turned out to be true! More actors to land soon...

Robert Davi Joins EX3

According to the radio station KEarth Robert Davi has joined the cast of EX3! Davi was known in the 80's for his roles in movies such as Die Hard and License to Kill. Interesting addition if true.

 
Update: this has been verified and Davi will indeed be playing in EX3. He will film in Bulgaria sometime in October for a couple of weeks with Gibson! Great addition to the cast.

It's worth noting that the radio station that interviewed Davi mentions Chan to be in the movie!

News From Bulgaria

Hey it's Elrey here, will be filling in for EXBlogman for a while until he's back. 

Got some mixed news from Bulgaria. Apparently the main cast will not start filming until Aug 25. The first week starting Aug 19 will be mainly including the stunt doubles & extras. It's almost confirmed that the first action scenes being filmed in Varna will take place in Africa and probably Somalia. The local casting agency has secured the 40 extras of African background to play the Somali policemen. Today they were looking for bodybuilders, martial artists and people with middle eastern traits as extras.

The first actors to arrive are Gibson, Banderas & Snipes. Ford will arrive later in September. Got some mixed reports that Schwarzenegger will not show up in August either which is to be verified as he has Maggie lined up in the Fall?!

I also wanted to say that having some Latin roots myself, I'm very excited that Banderas has been added to the cast.

Stay tuned, I'll do my best to keep things up-to-date!

The Chan, Cage, Jovovich Confusion

After one of the producers of EX3 made an announcement of the cast on his Facebook page, the internet has gone crazy over the absence of Chan, Cage, Jovovich, Rourke & Seagal from the list. Many movie news websites have even drawn the conclusion that the foregoing actors are not going to appear in the movie.

Let me put things in perspective. Nothing is set in stone and any of those actors could be in the movie. As a matter of fact, the participation of Chan, Rourke & Jovovich is very strong so don't count them out yet because a producer didn't list them on his Facebook page. The cast will not be announced before EX3 is well into production after August 19, so stay tuned, you may get surprised! 

Glen Powell is a Young Blood in EX3!

 
Glen Powell has been cast in a lead role in EX3. The 24-year-old will play a highly trained combat veteran who is also an expert hacker and drone pilot.

Powell's recent acting credits include The Dark Knight Rises and upcoming drama Red Wing.

He's one of the 5 young bloods Stallone hinted at and most likely one of the young techy Expendables! We'll report further on his role as we gather more information.

Source: THR

Li Confirmed & Stallone Landed in Bulgaria

As we are approaching the production start date of EX3, things will start to go fast and it's going to be hard to keep up. Here's some news...

Boaz Davidson (executive producer for EX3) posted this on his Facebook yesterday:

"7 Days To Kick Off

THE EXPENDABLES 3

Stallone,Statham,Ford,Gibson,
Lundgren,Snipes,Li,Couture,
Banderas,Rousey,Crews,
Schwarzenegger,Ortiz,Lutz.

The earth will rumble!!!"

This confirms Li but raises some doubts about Chan, Jovovich, Rourke & Seagal! We'll find out soon.

Stallone has landed in Bulgaria and here's a picture of him arriving at the airport. Interesting to note that he does not wear any facial hair as opposed to last time when he landed in Bulgaria for EX2 with his goatee. Stay tuned many more pictures to come out soon.

Lundgren To Join Stallone in Bulgaria On Time

Earlier reports suggested that Lundgren would not be able to join the EX3 cast in Bulgaria on Aug 19 (production start date) due to a conflict of schedule with the series he's been shooting in South Africa. It was believed that he would only join the set later around mid September after he wrapped in South Africa. But Lundgren has been able to clear his schedule to join the action titans in Bulgaria just in time for the production start date. He should be in Varna for the first action scenes.

Today the following message was posted on his official website: "In a week I'm off to Bulgaria to bring back GUNNER JENSEN to the new Expendables 3 lineup. And what a cast! Sly Stallone has possibly brought more action star to one film than anybody has ever done in the history of Hollywood."

Banderas' Role

Banderas is the latest addition to the EX3 cast. Being from Spain the spanish media reacted rapidly to the news and is suggesting that Banderas has been called to replace Willis! A couple of Bulgarian outlets have also reported that Banderas will not start filming before the 2nd half of September.

It is clear that Banderas will not play Church but instead of deleting Willis' scenes, it's a possibility that Stallone have Banderas take over the scenes with some minor rewriting. If Banderas is replacing Willis, then he will have a minor role as Willis was supposed to (Willis was going to film for 4 days only). Banderas as a secret service agent in EX3?

EX3 Production Update

The EX3 Production will be signing the official contract with the authorities of Varna, Bulgaria on Monday for  the filming of EX3. Action scenes with boats involved will start shooting on Aug 20 for 2 days at the port. Filming will continue in Varna until Aug 30 after which production will move to other parts of Bulgaria. The actors expected to be part of the first action scenes are Stallone, Schwarzenegger & Statham, no info on other actors is yet available.

The actions seem to be taken place in Somalia as the local casting agency in Bulgaria is desperately looking for 40 actors of African descent to play Somalian policemen. Are we getting a taste of EX1 with Somalian pirates again?

Gibson & Banderas Officially Confirmed

As we keep teasing via Wikipedia Español, we hinted at Banderas a few days ago. He has been officially confirmed by Stallone today. Another official confirmation (finally) is Gibson playing the main villain.

Here you have it, despite losing Willis, the EX3 cast is greater than ever. All we need now is an official confirmation of Seagal!

Bits of News & Don't Count Willis Out Yet!

Nothing major but some bits of news on EX3.

Ford confirmed on the Jimmy Kimmel show that he was indeed going to be in EX3 although he has not watched the first 2 movies. Rumors also have it that he will be filming 7 days for $2M vs the $4M Willis was asking for only 4 days.

Ortiz was seen on a picture, that was posted on Instagram, training for EX3 on how to hold a gun. The picture was taken down a few hours later.

Rousey tweeted that she finished yesterday fitting for EX3 outfits, and "got to meet some of the cast too, they're badass-sweethearts!" she quoted.

Cage confirmed once again in an interview that he has not seen the EX3 script and no one has contacted him for a role, he has not watched the 2 previous installments but you never know, he's open to the idea. The Cage polemic is probably the most annoying and intriguing story of EX3.

Finally the CEO of Lionsgate (Feltheimer) came to mitigate the Stallone/Willis fight and implied to analysts Friday that despite some intemperate comments from Sylvester Stallone, it may be too early to count Bruce Willis out of EX3. Without mentioning the "Die Hard" actor by name, the studio boss said that deals on star-studded projects like "The Expendables 3" are often being negotiated right up to the day cameras start rolling. "You just never know," he said. "Even on that part." Feltheimer noted that in the case of "The Expendables" franchise, the producers oversee much of the casting decisions. However, he said that Lionsgate does play a role in keeping all the parties under control and happy. "These are really talented and creative people and part of our job is to manage," Feltheimer said. Despite Willis' exit, Feltheimer said that the action film follow-up will have plenty of fresh blood.

Willis Dropped Out Over $1M Extra

A source with knowledge of the situation says Willis dropping out of EX3 was due to extra money demand. Willis was offered $3 million for four days of consecutive work on location in Bulgaria for the film. "He said he'd drop out unless he got $4 million," this source close to the production says. "A million dollars a day. Stallone and everybody else involved said no."

Stallone then quickly reached out to Ford, who was game to join the Expendables cast.

The insider adds, "I think [Willis] was pretty surprised he was replaced in 72 hours by Harrison Ford— a better actor, a much nicer person and a more interesting direction for the film."

Willis' reps at CAA declined to comment.

Maybe because I'm not in Willis' shoes I'm not understanding but letting a long term friend like Stallone down over $1M doesn't make sense for someone who's extremely loaded, what a loss...

Source: THR

The Shocker of the Day!

So yesterday we posted a clue about Ford playing the president of the USA via Wikipedia Español! Stallone confirms it today. Willis is out and Ford is in! Probably the shocker of all Expendables News so far. Although there was much speculation about Ford no one thought they'd convince him to play in EX3. 

Why did Willis drop out? I didn't see this one coming, and I have mixed feelings. I never considered Ford to be an action icon in the same league than Stallone or Schwarzenegger, but I have a lot of respect for him as one of the greatest actors of his time, so I'm happy he's in. But I'm sad to see Willis go, too bad. For me he represented the EX franchise along with the rest of the band, what a loss...

Couture Confirmed, Lundgren Getting Ready

Couture, via Twitter, confirmed to Ortiz that he was looking forward to working with him in EX3. To which Ortiz replied that he'd see him soon on set. We already knew that Couture was in but to hear it from him makes it more official. The twitting between the 2 men also confirms once again that filiming is to start soon!

Also via Twitter, Lundgren posted a picture of himself training hard on the beach of  Marina del Rey, CA. Does this mean that he's back from South Africa and getting ready to join the production of EX3 in Bulgaria? Early reports indcated that he would only be able to go to Bulgaria in September as his schedule was tight to finish his new series that was shooting in South Africa. He might have been able to cordinate between the 2 projects.

Production date is getting close so stay tuned for more news...

The EX3 Cast According to the Spanish Wikipedia: Updated!

Everyone is taking a shot at the EX3 Cast and this time it's the Spanish Wikipedia. They have even come up with a character name for Banderas (Carlos Ortiz)! And the plot: "The Expendables must save the President of the United States".

Update: So whoever is maintaining the EX3 Page for the Spanish Wikipedia has made some changes and is bringing us the following updates: Banderas has been removed from the cast (too bad) but Ford & Thurman have been added! I didn't see Thurman coming.

Ford plays the President of the USA who the Expendables have to save after he's kidnapped by Gibson. EX3 is also the last installment of the franchise, all according to Wikipedia Español!

I love it...

The Dirty Dozen & A Half

A few days ago the Bulgarian news agency 24chasa reported more updates on EX3. Most of what they reported such as Rousey taking her training staff to Bulgaria & the arrival date of the cast was already known and reported by us and others. But one piece of their news that drew attention was the allegedly 19 actors who have signed on for EX3, 13 of which would be famous.

Although 24chasa is one of the reliable Bulgarian sources they don't always get it right, so believe what they say at your own risk. We used them a few times 2 years ago when EX2 was filmimg, specially for on-set pictures. They seem for the most part to get the scoop before others in Bulgaria. But remember when they reported Cage & Travolta to be in the second installment of the Expendables based on statements made by the CEO of Nu Boyana, and the rest is history...

So 19 actors they claim ha? Shall we do the math to find out if the numbers make sense:

Let's assume the following cast is more or less confirmed and keep in mind that Stallone confirmed 5 (less known) new guys

1-Stallone - Famous #1

2-Schwarzenegger - Famous #2

3-Willis - Famous #3

4-Lundgren - Famous #4

5-Statham - Famous #5

6-Couture

7-Rourke - Famous #6

8-Chan - Famous #7

9-Snipes - Famous #8

10-Gibson - Famous #9

11-Jovovich - Famous #10

12-Rousey - New Gal #1
13-Ortiz - New Guy #2
14-Lutz - New Guy #3

The following is yet to be confirmed

15-Cage - Famous #11

16-Seagal - Famous #12

17-Li - Famous #13

18-Crews
19-New Guy #4 (The Raid?)
20-New Guy #5 (The Raid?)

There is one too many! I let you guess who...

Rousey's Role in EX3 Revealed

MMAjunkie.com claims to have obtained a working draft of EX3's script and Rousey will play one of the "Young Expendables"!  

Rousey plays Luna, an "athletic female bartender" in her 20s who joins up with the "Old Expendables" to battle one of their own. Luna is quick with words and handy in a fight.

In all, Rousey will appear in over 20 scenes and has 35 lines of dialogue and much of her job involves driving, flying, and shooting things.

MMAjunkie.com further reports that the script is a working draft – penned by husband-and-wife writing team Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, who wrote the recent action thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" – and is likely to be modified both before and during filming.

Rousey further said: "I'm leaving soon, and I'm very fortunate that there's going to be Victor Ortiz and Randy Couture and other fighter-type people there, and I'm going to be able to have my camp come and do everything, so I'm not going to break training for it at all".

When the promotional tour wraps later this month, Rousey reportedly will fly to Bulgaria to begin filming. She joins Stallone, Couture, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger and a bevy of other action stars.

Although tight-lipped about her role, Rousey said on Tuesday: "I'm probably going to play a kickass chick."

Interesting....