The Expendables actors are part of a giant ensemble cast, but some big names have turned the franchise down. One of Sylvester Stallone's major action movie franchises, The Expendables franchise kicked off in 2010, directed by Sylvester Stallone who brought together a cast of action heroes in a tribute to ‘80s action movies. The Expendables was a big hit upon its release, with The Expendables 2 following in 2012 and expanding its roster even more. While 2014’s The Expendables 3 brought in the biggest ensemble the franchise had ever seen, its PG-13 rating led to it being a financial disappointment.

Despite its downturn, The Expendables featured a list of very impressive stars. With Stallone as the series anchor, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews make up the main team, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis as close allies. The Expendables actors have also included Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Chuck Norris, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, and Antonio Banderas, and many more big names. However, there have also been several big names who turned down offers to appear.

Kurt Russell

Sylvester Stallone’s initial casting choice for Mr. Church in The Expendables was Kurt Russell. However, Russell declined the role, reportedly due to being disinclined towards “ensemble acting at the moment.” Russell later said that he hadn't even watched the movies in the franchise, saying, "It's not a beat I get. It's like looking backwards to me." Thanks to Russell rejecting the role, Stallone ended up casting Bruce Willis as Mr. Church in The Expendables.

Steven Seagal

While The Expendables was being put together, Steven Seagal was also approached about making a cameo appearance in the ensemble action movie. Seagal declined, owing to a rift with someone in the franchise. "I just didn't like some of the people involved. Life is too short to work with funny people," Seagal said (via Slash Film). Seagal refused to name names at the time.

Bruce Willis

Following on his appearance as one of the original The Expendables actors, Bruce Willis returned for The Expendables 2 with Mr. Church having an expanded role. Willis was originally set to return as Church in The Expendables 3, but a pay dispute would lead to him not coming back. According to reports, Willis was getting paid $3 million for a four-day shoot, but he wanted an extra million and Stallone refused the demands. Stallone cast Harrison Ford 72 hours later as Drummer in The Expendables 3 and went on to call Willis "greedy and lazy."

Jean-Claude Van Damme

As part of the action hero ensemble that The Expendables actors entailed, The Muscles from Brussels was approached by Stallone. It is not entirely clear who Van Damme would have portrayed in The Expendables, but due to Van Damme not finding the story compelling, he ultimately declined Stallone's offer. It would end up being a moot point within two years, with Van Damme joining The Expendables 2 as the villainous Jean-Vilain, which also reunited him with his frequent on-screen co-stars Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren.

Wesley Snipes

The part of The Expendables mini-canon wielding Hale Caesar was initially written for Wesley Snipes. Due to his tax-related issues at the time that saw him spend three years in prison, Snipes had to turn down the role. Snipes would subsequently be seen in The Expendables 3 as Doc Death, making a meta-joke on his real-life tax conviction after being rescued by his teammates, Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Wesley Snipes saying, as Doc Death, that he was imprisoned due to “tax evasion.”

Forest Whitaker

After Snipes had to turn down Hale Caesar in The Expendables, Forest Whitaker was originally set to assume the role. In the end, a scheduling conflict forced Whitaker to back out of The Expendables (via Slash Film). Whitaker would nonetheless later appear alongside one of The Expendables's core players, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the 2013 action movie The Last Stand.

50 Cent

50 Cent would also become attached to the role of Hale Caesar in The Expendables after Snipes and Whitaker abdicated the part. While the official reason is not clear, 50 Cent ultimately did not end up portraying Hale Caesar, with the role finally being assumed by Terry Crews. 50 Cent would later co-star with Stallone in the Escape Plan trilogy and eventually joined the franchise in The Expendables 4.

Terry Crews

Despite being a core member of the team in the first three Expendables movies, Terry Crews chose to sit out The Expendables 4. According to Terry Crews (via IndieWire), he was asked to drop a sexual assault charge by producer Avi Lerner, which Crews refused and instead left production.

Donnie Yen

Ahead of The Expendables 2, Donnie Yen was a bigger star than ever thanks to the Ip Man movies. Yen would decline the offer to appear in The Expendables 2. Yen said that "They wanted me to be in Expendables 2, but I just didn’t feel the role clicked. I was flattered that I was approached by the producers, but I just didn’t see the role they asked me to do being that intriguing" (via Coming Soon). Yen later boarded John Wick: Chapter 4, expanding its martial arts ensemble with the John Wick series becoming an Expendables challenger.

Antonio Banderas

The Expendables 2 also might have seen the involvement of Antonio Banderas, who was offered a role in the sequel. Scheduling issues would prevent Banderas from accepting the offer. "They asked me to do ['Expendables 2'], I don't think at this point I will have the time. I am very disappointed that it didn't work out," Banderas said. Despite this, Banderas would later join the franchise as Galgo in The Expendables 3.

John Travolta

During casting for The Expendables 2, John Travolta, whom Stallone directed in Stayin’ Alive, was also reportedly in talks about joining the Expendables franchise. Despite this, Travolta did not end up joining the sequel.

Nicolas Cage

Concurrent with Travolta’s talks for The Expendables 2, Nicolas Cage was also said to have had discussions about joining the sequel, as well. Stallone had stated that scheduling with respect to the film’s Bulgarian production was the hurdle for both Cage and Travolta joining. While no official reason has been given, this seems to be the likely reason for the line-up of The Expendables 2 not including either of them.

Mickey Rourke

Rourke was part of The Expendables in the beginning, serving as the team’s confidante, Tool. Though there had been talks about Rourke returning for both The Expendables 2 and The Expendables 3, he ended up turning down both sequels. Instead of taking the role in Expendables 2, Rourke pursued a role in Seven Psychopaths. Liam Hemsworth's character replaced Tool in the movie.

Clint Eastwood

For both The Expendables 3 and The Expendables 4, Clint Eastwood reportedly had some talks but ultimately joined neither movie. While the reasons behind his absence are unknown, Stallone himself had commented "Well, you know Clint is so involved with what he’s doing, so that’s kind of a pipe dream" (via Cheat Sheet).

Milla Jovovich

Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich was also reported to have been in negotiations for The Expendables 3. In the end, it seems a deal could not be reached, with Jovovich not appearing in the third movie in The Expendables franchise. Ronda Rousey joined the cast for the movie instead.

Jack Nicholson

While prepping The Expendables 3, Sylvester Stallone had originally considered Jack Nicholson as the sequel's antagonist. Per Stallone, “I was going to go [call] up Jack Nicholson, and we just got there a little too late, because actually, he had said he might be interested in it." However, by that point, Nicholson had retired from acting, and the role of The Expendables 3's villain Conrad Stonebanks eventually went to Mel Gibson.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan was offered roles in both The Expendables 2 and The Expendables 3. Unfortunately, scheduling issues stood in the way of Chan joining. Chan also had the stipulation of coming aboard in more than a small capacity and had even spoken to Stallone about doing a duo movie in lieu of an Expendables appearance. With The Expendables 4 set to be Stallone's last in the series, fans can only hope Chan's idea of a team-up he suggested to Stallone comes along to finally create the Sylvester Stallone-Jackie Chan buddy movie that The Expendables franchise could not facilitate.