The first poster for The Expendables 4 supports the theories surrounding Barney Ross being killed off early. It’s been known for a long time now that the fourth installment in the franchise will mark the final appearance of Sylvester Stallone’s character. Stallone’s previous comments on his exit indicate that Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas will take on a leadership position in his absence.
Aside from the cast, not much is presently known about the fourth outing for Ross’ team of elite soldiers. Of the original group, the characters played by Stallone, Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture all are confirmed to be coming back for at least one more mission. Somehow, the events of the movie will pave the way for Stallone to move on from the franchise for good. This could involve the character simply retiring. Or, Ross could meet his end in the field as a causality of a mission at the beginning of the movie. This is just one of several theories about how The Expendables 4 will bring Ross’ story in the franchise to a close.
The possibility of Stallone’s Ross getting an early death in the movie was strengthened by the reveal of the first Expendables 4 poster. So far, all three Expendables movies have given Stallone top billing, while the fourth film curiously put Statham first. The cast list ended with “and Sylvester Stallone”, which is similar to how the first three installments billed Arnold Schwarzenegger, who never had a huge role in any of the movies. Not only does this point toward Stallone receiving significantly less screen-time in The Expendables 4, but it provides at least some evidence for the idea that Ross could die at some point in the first half of the film.
Stallone could still be considered to be the star of the movie even if Ross were to die at the end of The Expendables 4’s central mission, but this detail suggests that something far different is in store for his character. Stallone being treated more like a special guest star than the lead character creates the impression that Ross either won’t be on the main team or won’t last for very long. Perhaps the easiest explanation for Stallone’s smaller role is that the character goes down at the beginning of the movie, forcing Christmas to take over the team early on in the story. After all, Ross is the team leader, so retirement, an injury, death, or getting captured are the only good reasons why he wouldn’t be around much.
Of course, nothing has been confirmed about Stallone’s role in the franchise’s fourth movie. But after the reveal of the first poster, the likelihood of Ross getting killed off early is much stronger than it was before. At this point, it seems like a real possibility that the death of Sylvester Stallone’s Barney Ross will be what drives the story for The Expendables 4.