An all-female version of the action movie The Expendables has been in the works for some time, and in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, producer Jeffrey Greenstein gave an update on how that’s coming along.
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The film, tentatively titled The Expendabelles as a play on the original film’s name, has been rumored to be in development for some time. According to Greenstein, they have been actively trying to develop the film but have run into the problem of not being able to explain why there is a separate team made up entirely of women rather than just incorporating women into the existing film.
“We’d been trying to develop The Expendabelles, a female version of The Expendables, but my problem with that project was always trying to find a way to justify why we’d have a woman team,” said Greenstein. “Instead of trying to explain that, why not just have women on the regular team and [they’re] badass? Instead of having to explain why a woman character got there and all that, you just do what you’d do with a man: show them kicking ass.”
Greenstein was then asked whether or not the shift in more female-led and focused films from Millennium was due to the fact that the audiences for films have shifted. Greenstein acknowledged as much, noting that the action films of old were “predominantly male-driven” and that generationally, audiences are different nowadays.
“It’s a good point. The 80s, 90s action films were predominantly male-driven,” Greenstein said. “I think it’s a generational thing. The younger demographics are dominating the box office now. They are more progressive, they are more open, they are more story-focused. They don’t make a distinction between man or woman, as long as you give them a character that’s awe-some. They go for it.”
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While it seems like an all-female version of The Expendables won’t be coming out anytime soon, it’s unknown what the future holds for the franchise beyond the currently planned The Expendables 4, which is set to release sometime in 2023.
