Rumor: Naomi Watts, Chris Evans, and Li Bingbing Sought for 'The Expendabelles'; Stallone and Willis Confirmed

 Maybe it was the leak that saw The Expendables 3 viewed by millions weeks before it hit theaters, but Sylvester Stallone's action bonanza (clearly the best of the franchise) tanked hard at the box office..domestically, anyway. Internationally it was a powerhouse, with more than $160M of its $204M total coming from overseas markets. And while there is still some buzz of a fourth film, what's likely to come first is the female-led spinoff, The Expendabelles, and some new names are being rumored for the cast.

Now take all of this with a shot of side eye because the story emerged at The Tracking Board, which says offers have been sent to Naomi Watts, Alan Rickman (?), Chris Evans (??), Marcia Gay Harden, and Li Bingbing. They also "confirm" that Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis will be reprising their Expendables roles, which sounds suspicious given the blow up between the two during The Expendables 3 filming. Remember how Willis walked out on production because of a salary dispute, only to have Stallone rewrite the script and trash his character for the entire movie? Yeah. And with Stallone producing Expendebelles it doesn't seem likely he'd be begging Willis to return.

Anyway, we'll see if any of this shakes out. These are just offers and any of them could (and probably will) refuse, just as Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver did. Robert Luketic (Killers) is directing from a script by the Legally Blonde duo of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith.

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Sylvester Stallone to Star as Infamous Mobster in Brad Furman's 'Scarpa'; May Appear in 'The Expendabelles'

A film on infamous mobster Gregory Scarpa, who became known as the "Grim Reaper" for the dozens of murders he committed over three decades, has been in the works over at Millennium Films for years. At one point Bruce Willis was eyed to take the title role in Scarpa, but recently it was his ex-buddy in The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone, who began circling the part. And now with Stallone on board the film is now moving forward with Brad Furman coming on to bring the mob assassin's life to the big screen.

Furman helped sparked the McConaissance with The Lincoln Lawyer a couple of years ago, only to follow it up with the abysmal gambling flick Runner Runner. Scarpa already sounds promising with Stallone and Furman on board but then you factor in a script by Nick Pileggi, the Oscar nominated screenwriter of Goodfellas, and there's even greater potential. Scarpa was a notorious hitman for the Colombo crime family, allegedly committing more than 50 murders until he became an FBI informant in 1980. Although the FBI continues to deny it, a popular theory is Scarpa helped them locate the bodies of three civil rights activists murdered in Mississippi by the KKK.

Filming is set to begin in Bulgaria later this year, and that happens to be the same place where 'Expendables' female spinoff, The Expendabelles, will be shooting. Some sources are reporting director Robert Luketic's claims of Stallone and Harrison Ford making an appearance but until the ladies are cast it's probably early to assume anything. We've heard talk of Meryl Streep, Milla Jojovich, Cameron Diaz, Zoe Bell, and others joining as candidates with nothing confirmed yet. [TheWrap]

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'The Expendabelles' Gets Its Director

It's a new world for the role of females in action films. The 80's are over, we have women in action that can kick more ass than half of their male counterparts. Sorry Red Sonja and Rae Dawn Chong, you didn't do enough to raise the bar so names like Kate Beckinsale, Milla Jovovich, and Gina Carano karate chopped that bar in half. We've known for a while now that there would be a female counterpart to the testosterone-laden series, The Expendables, but today we learn that the film now has a director...Robert Luketic. Remember what I said earlier, about women in action today holding a different role? It really doesn't look like it's going full on girl power based on what we know. First there's the writing team, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, aka the ladies behind Legally Blonde, not coincidentally the same movie that Robert Luketic made his name on. I know, I know, Legally Blonde, wasn't a wholly misogynistic movie...though it did rely heavily on some pretty standard stereotypes. No, the real bit of telling info is the synopsis, in case you've missed it here it is: 

When America’s Navy SEALs are wiped out trying to penetrate the island lair of a deadly despot who has captured one of the world’s top nuclear scientists, it becomes clear that there is no such thing as the right man for the job and that this is a mission so impossible that only women can handle it. The only way in: some of the world’s deadliest female operatives must pose as high-class call-girls shipped in by private plane to satisfy a dictator–and instead save the scientist and the day.

 So...not only are they back-ups but the only reason they chose an all-girl team was so they could masquerade as hookers? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all about seeing those undercover scenes but something tells me this flick isn't going to be showing young women that they can do everything the boys can. Who knows, maybe I'm looking to far into it....guess we'll just have to wait and see.

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