Expendables Producer On Why We Can't Have A "Full-Female" Expendables Team

James Ramsey

The female leadership Expendables have finally come to an end after ten years of advancement. The project has been put on hold, which is why we haven't heard any good news about ExpendaBelles in a while. There were whispers that The Expendables will have a spinoff starring some of the most well-known female actors in the action industry a few years ago.
There were rumors that Milla Jovovich, Meryl Streep, and Cameron Diaz would be among the cast of the next movie, which Robert Luketic was supposed to direct in 2014. A recent interview with Jeffrey Greenstein of Millennium Films revealed the reasons behind the cancellation of ExpendaBelles, an all-female-led Expendables movie.

Did the all-female Expendables movie get canceled?

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When American Navy SEALs are decimated while attempting to penetrate the island stronghold of a deadly tyrant who has kidnapped one of the world's top nuclear experts, according to the plot summary for the female-led Expendables movie. It is clear that there is no such thing as the ideal candidate for the job and that this is an impossible assignment that can only be completed by women.
Several of the world's most dangerous female agents must cover themselves as high-class call girls service flying in on a private plane to satisfy a dictator—and ultimately save the professor and the day.
With little actual development progress achieved, the project would still continue to boil in development hell. After several years, ExpendaBelles seemed to have died. That was confirmed by the film's producer, Jeffrey Greenstein, who recently explained in an interview the reasons why the concepts for the movie were discarded. In the end, it comes down to his novel approach of incorporating more women in the main storyline. There wasn't, in his opinion, a strong enough justification for the gender division on purpose. He said
“We’d been trying to develop The ExpendaBelles, a female version of The Expendables, but my problem with that project was always trying to find a way to justify why we’d have a woman team. Instead of trying to explain that, why not just have women on the regular team, and [they’re] badass? Instead of having to explain why a woman character got there and all that, you just do what you’d do with a man: show them kicking ass.”
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Fans of the Expendables movie series will undoubtedly have a variety of emotions about the decision to cancel The ExpendaBelles. The decision will surely draw criticism because it prevents some of Hollywood's most well-known female action actresses from starring in their own entries in the series.
However, a lot of people will probably support Greenstein's choice to eliminate The ExpendaBelles since they prefer to see more female characters in big-budget Movies. The female characters in the first Expendables were frequently seen as sex objects or damsels in distress, but Yu Nan's Maggie in the sequel was a positive move in the right direction.
The hiring of Ronda Rousey as former nightclub bouncer Luna in The Expendables 3 nearly brought the franchise back on track, but the decision to hold her captive for the entirety of the movie derailed the plan. The actors who were considered for The ExpendaBelles may appear in the main Expendables movie as no actors were ever signed to the project.
Source: hollywoodreporter