“He was begging”: Sylvester Stallone says Steven Seagal never turned down The Expendables
Steven Seagal says he snubbed The Expendables, yet Sylvester Stallone tells a very different story — one that turns that boast on its head.
There's no shortage of ex-wrestlers and ageing tough guys in The Expendables films, but one bloke has always been conspicuously absent: Steven Seagal. For years, Seagal’s been telling anyone who’ll listen that he gave the franchise a hard pass. But according to Sylvester Stallone — who actually puts these movies together — it turns out that story’s about as reliable as Seagal’s recent filmography.
Stallone responded, in a fairly lively appearance on The Rest is Entertainment podcast: 'Let’s just say he was not invited to that party,' before laughing and adding, 'My god. Really? He turned us down? How about I tell you he was begging to be in the show. Begging.'
So much for Seagal as the man who said "no." Stallone absolutely was not having any of it, getting properly exasperated by this idea Seagal turned them down. 'Why? Why lie like that?' he wondered aloud, sounding more bemused than actually annoyed. These two aren't exactly mortal enemies, mind. Stallone said there's no bad blood, though he couldn't help dropping a bit of shade — suggesting there’s a lot he could say about 'moments' they've had over the years. It’s not hard to read between those lines.
Seagal, for his part, has been busy being... Steven Seagal. Stallone pointed out that the man hasn't really been in the mainstream action game for ages, questioning whether he even does action films anymore and quipping about his apparent Russian address these days.
Who actually made the cut?
Let’s be honest — The Expendables never wanted for star power anyway. Across four increasingly bonkers films, you got Stallone as Barney Ross, plus a ridiculous pile-on of action icons:
- Jason Statham
- Dolph Lundgren
- Jet Li
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Bruce Willis
- Mickey Rourke
- Chuck Norris
- Scott Adkins
- Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Randy Couture
- Mel Gibson
- Harrison Ford
- Wesley Snipes
- Tony Jaa
- Iko Uwais
- And honestly, plenty more besides
The Expendables' fourth film hit cinemas in 2023 — and Steven Seagal's still never joined the team.
Meanwhile, Seagal’s own career has been more a case of "straight-to-DVD, with subtitles". He hasn’t turned up in anything since 2019. He does have something called Order of the Dragon in the works, though — but don't hold your breath for a cinema release, or any scenes that require standing up for more than a minute at a time.