The Expendables 2 is starting to move forward with the movie still set for a August (17th) 2012 release Simon West now has his work cut out to ensemble the cast to make sure he can make that targeted release date. Despite the first movie been a disappointment it was obvious the box office certainly answered that question of a second movie to be made, so who will be returning from movie one? Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis are all confirmed with Arnie and Willis to have bigger roles but as you’ll notice one name is missing from that list of original cast Jet Li. Out of all the characters Li’s character was the more energetic but was also the joke of the film so it’s either Li wasn’t want to be the butt of the jokes again or simply his work schedule clashed.
One thing about Li’s inclusion certainly gave the movie a bigger presence in Asia and the movie a success also the producers are determined to have another high end Martial Arts star for the sequel to make sure its an success too. It’s been reported that producer Avi Lerner has found his man and its none other than The Ip Man Donnie Yen! It appears Yen has been offered the major role (possibly the same character as Li Yin Yang) but if your an follower of Asian cinema you’ll know Asian actors schedules can be a little more hetic than their Hollywood counterparts so a script will need to be read first before he’ll consider the part which should be a problem if the reported production of the movie is to start next month in Bulgaria.
Yen is one of Asia’s megastars and is one of the highest paid actors in Hong Kong/China but will he get $4.5million dollar payout he’ll get for Assassin Couple a Hong Kong Remake of Mr &Mrs Smith hes just signed for? Yen is like many of his Asian counterparts still to break into Hollywood big style and because of that he would become a 6th or 7th string actor in The Expendables 2, so would someone with high ranking stature in Asian cinema want to take a role which would earn him alot less? Personally Yen would be better concentrating his talents elsewhere rather show up washed out hasbeen actors, what if he turns the part down, who can they go for next?
