Sylvester Stallone is hard at work on Escape Plan 3; despite the fact that the second movie hasn’t even been released yet. The original Escape Plan featured a team-up between action icons Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and while it was an entertaining thriller in its own way, it was something of a letdown for fans who waited decades to see the two stars united onscreen.

Escape Plan didn't do great business in America, but thanks to the international box office it ended up making a tidy profit. That’s why the film has led to a surprise franchise, with Stallone returning to front both the second and third entries. Schwarzenegger won’t be involved in either movie, but Stallone’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 costar Dave Bautista has signed on for both sequels. 50 Cent will also be reprising his role for both movies as Hush, the world’s (least convincing) computer nerd.

Related: Escape Plan 2 is 'Completely Different'

Stallone posted a video to his Instagram account showing himself and Bautista on location for Escape Plan 3, revealing his character’s cramped little cell in the threequel. The film is being shot in the real-life Mansfield prison, which was previously used as the exterior prison location for The Shawshank Redemption.

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Just like the original, both of the Escape Plan sequels will depend on the chemistry between its two leads. That said, it inspires confidence that the studio was so pleased with the Stallone/Bautista pairing they immediately pressed ahead with a third entry when Escape Plan 2: Hades doesn’t even have a firm release date. Bautista spoke back in April about his role in the second movie and seems stoked to be a part of the franchise:

It’s got me and Sylvester Stallone in it, yeah! (Laughs) I can tell you this. It’s completely different than Escape Plan one. (Laughs) So if you saw Escape Plan one and you were a fan or weren’t a fan, it’s a completely different route. It’s a different vibe, a different look. Obviously, I’m coming in and filling in the gap Arnold left, and you know, I am no Arnold Schwarzenegger, but then again, I am no Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Laughs) So there’s a completely different chemistry between Ray Breslin and myself, my character, and a good chemistry. I mesh well with Sly.

Stallone is becoming something of an old hand with prison escape movies, having previously starred in Tango & Cash, Judge Dredd and Lock Up. The Escape Plan series also mark another franchise for the veteran actor - after Rambo, The Expendables and Rocky. He’s set to reprise Rocky for the upcoming Creed 2, where he’ll once again mentor Adonis Creed as he squares off against Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who killed his father Apollo in the ring in Rocky IV.

NEXT: Stallone Hints at Creed 2 Release Date

Neither Escape Plan 2: Hades nor Escape Plan 3 have release dates set at this time.

Source: Sylvester Stallone