We’re at a turning point in the cultural zeitgeist, concerning the representation of women. Male-dependent damsels like Bella Swan are increasingly frowned upon, in an age where princesses prefer swordplay to swooning over prince charmings. Televised hits Mad Men and Game of Thrones explore patriarchal societies in historical and fantasy context, while Homeland examines feminist ideals in the new century. This is a banner year for blockbusters featuring modern action heroines, thanks to Haywire, The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Brave.
Thus, there is no time like the present for an Expendables-riff that unites all the armed-and-dangerous babes who’ve graced the silver screen. Director Simon West (Expendables 2) has revealed a desire to incorporate an “Expenda-Belles” team in a future installment, name-dropping such gals as Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider) and Helen Mirren (RED) as possibilities. However, reports are in that Hollywood has begun the process of assembling a girls-exclusive riff on Expendables that takes place in a separate universe (but maintains the badassery factor).
Sylvester Stallone and Yu Nan in 'The Expendables 2'
Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables celebrates the past exploits of its masculine cast by teaming over-the-hill superstars (Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger) with beefcakes in their prime like Terry Crews and Randy Couture. Expendables 2 (read our review) opens the floodgates wider to include a female screen hero (Yu Nan) and youthful face (Liam Hemsworth) for a second round of ultra-violence and self-camp nods to Americana die-hard cinema. Two years ago, we here at Screen Rant assembled our own dream cast for a feminine-flavored Expendables that brought together definitive badass ladies (Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton) with icons of the past 15 years, in Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.
Executive producer Adi Shankar is developing an all-woman take on Expendables. Variety says that Shankar will back through his 1984 Private Defense Contractors banner, with newcomer Dutch Southern scripting. Shankar stumbled with the biopic Machine Gun Preacher, but went on to find success with gory machismo flick The Grey and the viral hit Punisher: Dirty Laundry short. He also has violent films both visceral (Dredd) and artistically-satisfying (Killing Them Softly) in the can. Suffice it to say, he brings with him the practical experience and knowledge to ensure an effeminate Expendables is also an impressive one.
Will Lena Headey join the 'female Expendables'?
Early negotiations are ongoing with “several prominent actresses affiliated with the action genre” to sign on for Shankar’s (untitled) female Expendables. Celebrities ranging from 1980s and ’90s relics Cynthia Rothrock (Undefeatable) and Brigitte Nielsen (Red Sonja) to actresses Jennifer Garner (Alias) and Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) fit that bill, along with the younger Summer Glau (Firefly) and her Sarah Connor Chronicles costar Lena Headey. Potentials range from Zoe Saldana (Colombiana) to Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) – and far too many others to list here.
Stallone engineered a simple, but satisfactory, excuse for craggly hooligans of the big screen to work under the same roof in Expendables: they are all mercenaries, unified across different nationalities by the desire to reduce cartoonish baddies to mincemeat (and get paid while doing it). The female equivalent could follow suit, without straining credibility more than Sly’s machismo franchise does. Of course, suspension of disbelief will be of little concern to men and women who just want to see some fine gals kick ass (and chew bubblegum, perhaps).
Yu Nan as the first (official) female 'Expendable'
Who would you like to see recruited for a female-centric Expendables? Moreover, who would you like to see play the villain in an all-women Expendables? Sound off in the comments section, and who knows – maybe some of the bigwigs around Tinseltown take notice of demand from fans (hey, we can dream, right?).
The Expendables 2 is playing in theaters around the U.S.
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I hope Sarah Michelle Gellar will be in thids! #Buffy
I hope Sarah Michelle Gellar will be in this! #Buffy
definitely gotta have Milla Jovovovich, Michelle Rodriguez,Angelina Jolie, Gabrielle Union. andJee-Ja Yenin from Chocolate
YETI, YOU”ve hit ONE NAME OUT OF THE PARK!!!! JEEJA YANIN!!!! I LOVES ME THIS GIRL!!!! A young, gifted actress overdue for an American breakout role!!!! Chocolate and (to a lesser eztent) Raging Phoenix showed this girl’s range and abilities. US Audiences **** DESERVE **** to see this young lady showing off like only SHE CAN!!!!!
agreed!
Re-team Neve Campbell and Theresa Russell. Put them on the bad girl side.
I was wondering while reading the article just how much of the Expendables idea actually is Sylvester Stallone’s? Wouldn’t he get some kind of credit and money for this spinoff?
Mira Sorvino – Replacement Killers
i thought clearly about it now,i don´t want to see a female expendables movie,that would be too much female power : )
The charlies Angels 1 & 2 Cast as well maybe not cameron diaz, but defeinitely demi moore as a villain after she his up a buffet for a week
NO to Uma Thurman and Vivica Fox!!! I prefer gabrielle union or sanaa lathon, Sigourney weaver as the Villain would be EPIC!
You can’t have too many unattractive women in this movie. regardless of their action background. And thurman is as unattactive as they come.
If lucy Liu isnt in it then im waiting for DVD.
V for Vendeta….. Oh yeah, Star Wars (Natlie Portman). Be an a$$hole if you a correct. Dumb ass.
All-female Expendables? – I’m game
Some awesome @$$-kicking female stars that come to mind, are:
Yvonne Strahovski, Summer Glau, Zoe Salanda, Sigorney Weaver, Angelina Jolie, Kate Beckinsale, Dame Helen Mirren, Milla Jovovich, Lena Headey, Charleze Theron, Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and maybe Scarlett Johannson and Cameron Diaz as well…
Don’t care who plays the villains and who plays the heroes, as long as most of these gals are in the movie.
Olga Kurylenko
Mila Kunis
Sophie Marceau
Pam Grier
Tia Carrere
Barbara Carrera
Any of the above could play either a villain or hero, the last two on the list have both played villain’s, Tia in True Lies and Barbara in Never Say Never Again.
As good as your selections are they’re all (except for Helen Mirren and Sigourney Weaver) a bit on the youthful side. To be a female Expendables I think they need to be a bit more, mature (not a word you can use for the testosterone group of oldies in the male one
).
Admittedly finding aging female stars who can still kick ass a bit is not as easy as finding a bunch of old muscle-bound men to fit that bill, the 80′s was rife with them (just look at the cast of Expendables!)
But I think we need to look back a bit further and get some mature stock on the roster.
Admittedly Olga and Mila are both young, but they’re kind of my selections as they younger brigade in the cast.
“the” not “they”.
Sheesh, did someone say “Edit Button” ?
I get what you’re saying, but my selections are purely based on @$$kicking icons that are established as action stars (thus, I’m not really looking at age).
Summer Glau and Zoe Salanda for example have both been in more action films (in Glau’s case, tv shows) than Liam Hemsworth… so why shouldn’t they make the cut?
I’ll admit, as a 17 year old guy, I’m more interested in seeing girls like Strahovski, Glau, Salanda and Johannson fight it out than Dame Hellin Mirren or Sigorney Weaver
, but if you look back at action-movie history, there haven’t really been many female action stars until recent years – that’s why my choices are more aimed at younger actress than older actresses.
Ahh 17, the mind’s a bit foggy but I do remember that age (at 49 it’s a bit hard).
Don’t get me wrong you’re list is quite impressive (and so are they for that matter), and yes it is much harder to find a list of older female talent to compare with the testosterone brigade. There’s nothing wrong with a couple of younger stars (like Liam Hemsworth), I wasn’t trying to infer that there shouldn’t be any younger a@@whooping female stars, just that for it to be an all female expendables, you know, the balance of the cast really needs some, maturity (old is not a word to bandy about when talking of the fairer sex now is it!)
So I can see some of your selections being in there, we just need to balance it out a bit, you know what I mean?
I think if you are going to do something similar to Expendables you have to limit your female picks to actresses who have many years of screen time as kick ass characters. This would unfortunately eliminate such actresses as Summer Glau, Zoe Salanda etc. The Expendables cast is mostly older actors that are now icons of kick assery, this should apply to picking females as well.
linda hamilton from T2 judgement day! need i say more
This idea is so freaking awesome, an all female ass kicking movie! A good idea that could intertwine the older (80′s- 90′s) females with the younger (2000- ) females together without getting confusing or off balance. Maybe have the leaders, Segourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton, Lucy Lawless, Uma Therman (who are you guys to say she’s unattractive, take a look at her filmography), and Helen Mirren. Then they find and team up the younger females to expand there team, Drew Barrymore, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Rodriguez, Lucy Lui, Angelina Jolie,Milla Jovovich, Gabrielle Union, Cameron Diaz, Maggie Q, Paula Patton, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, and Kate Beckonsale. Yeah that is a lot but I doubt if all of these actresses would even want to be in this movie, but to see a few of them in this would be incredible!
The Expendables are for men….nuff said.
Terrible idea.
the heroes: weaver, hamilton, milla, rodriguez, beckinsale, jolie.
Villan: Pam Grier, cynthia rothrock and lucy lui.
women should stay inside the kitchen, not in the war zone. go make me some sandwich please.
Nice
All I know is that Sigourney Weaver better be in there somewhere! You simply do NOT make a femme throw-back 80′s action flick without her.
Shouldn’t they be called ‘The Expandables’?
Vivica would be cool as a villian. I’d like to see if Laila Ali could pull it off as being one of the heroines!
It’s about time!!! I wish they would make this movie I would watch it opening weekend.
Lucy Liu, Sarah Michel Gellar, Uma Turman, sigourney weaver, Angelina Jolie, Kate Beckinsale, Scarlett Johnasen.
no one will watch this! lemme guess? one o’ the chics friends gets raped or kidnapped ala TAKEN and the “CHIC SQUAD” ( thats what I’m naming them) bands together for a PMS infusued primal man stomping rampage? Wait a tic? THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!!!! count me in!!!
Oh and dont forget we need a shot to the groin counter on the bottom right of the screen to track the multitude of excessive groin smashing this film will contain.
MICHELLE YOEH CYNTHIA ROTHROCK GINA CARANO AND ZOE BELL THATS YOUR CORE 4 THEN YOU BUILD THE CAST AROUND THEM
JENNIFER GARNER!!! ALIAS!!!! SHE SAID SHE WANTS TO GO BACK TO ACTION!!!
I agree, Jennifer Garner did some of the best action/fight scenes ever on TV and looks as if she could really do them effectively. There are few things that piss me off more than females (non mutant, super powered or magic) that are supposed to be effective fighters who are so thin you wonder if anyone would notice if they were punched in the face by one.
Must Haves:
-Sigourney Weaver
-Lucy Lawless
-Linda Hamilton
Would Love:
-Milla Jovovich
-Michelle Rodriguez
-Lucy Liu
-Kate Beckinsdale
-Jessica Alba
Villian:
-Birgitte Nielson
-Angelina Jolie
-Carrie Fisher
-Katee Sackhoff
-Sarah Michelle Gellar
Also, I feel Chyna should be in there somewhere but she’s a horrible actress.