Summary
- The Expendables 4 is set to hit theaters in 2023, but it seems that some cast from The Expendables 3 won't be returning.
- Thorn, played by Glen Powell, was a important character in The Expendables 3 but is not confirmed to appear in The Expendables 4.
- Thorn's absence in the next installment would be puzzling, especially since he and the other new recruits were formally inducted into the team in the previous movie.
The Expendables 4 is bringing the action hero ensemble franchise back to theaters, but one new crew member of The Expendables 3 may not be returning for the team's next ride. The Expendables first took off in 2010, with Sylvester Stallone leading a crew of action movie veterans in a throwback to '80s and '90s action films. The Expendables franchise hit its first snag with 2014's The Expendables 3, which underperformed its two predecessors due to its ill-advised PG-13 rating.
While The Expendables 3's underperformance and negative reception put the franchise in stasis for nearly a decade, the team is revving up for their next mission in The Expendables 4, which is due to hit theaters on September 22, 2023. The cast of The Expendables 4 includes both franchise regulars like Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture, along with series newcomers like Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais. However, numerous cast of The Expendables 3 do not appear to be returning for The Expendables 4, and that includes one particularly important player.
Glen Powell Is Not Confirmed To Return As Thorn In Expendables 4
In The Expendables 3, Barney Ross (Stallone) assembles a new team of younger Expendables recruits, including daredevil mercenary Thorn (Glenn Powell). Thorn emerges as a lieutenant to Barney, leading his peers under Barney's command before both generations of Expendables eventually forces in the final battle. In the ending of The Expendables 3, Thorn and his fellow recruits Luna (Ronda Rousey), Smilee (Kellan Lutz), and Mars (Victor Ortiz) are formally inducted onto the team. Despite this, none are confirmed to appear in The Expendables 4.
Following the failure of The Expendables 3, The Expendables 4 underwent an extended development process, which probably involved numerous treatments and versions of the latter's story being proposed and discarded. It is a good bet that many of these undeveloped concepts for The Expendables 4 would have involved Thorn and the other new of the team returning. In the end, The Expendables 4 would become a ing-of-the-torch story, with Statham's Lee Christmas formally assuming command of the team from Stallone's Barney Ross. While this makes for a good Expendables swan song for Stallone, Thorn's absence brings some issues with it.
Expendables 4 Needs To Include Glen Powell After Expendables 3's Ending
With Thorn and the younger Expendables brought aboard the mercenary unit in the ending of The Expendables 3, all of them being absent in The Expendables 4 without explanation would be quite puzzling. The Expendables 4 is already having to work around several of the team not returning, though at least The Expendables 3 would create a plausible exit for Jet Li's Yin Yang by having him the team of Trench Ma (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Thorn not returning for The Expendables 4 would be a quite unceremonious disappearance after he just officially ed the team.
Additionally, Powell has become a much bigger star since The Expendables 3, thanks primarily to his role as Hangman in 2022's mega-hit Top Gun: Maverick. With The Expendables franchise specifically predicating itself on assembling a cast of action heroes, Powell would be even more of a prime candidate for the series after Maverick's success. Theoretically, The Expendables 4 could either have an explanation for the absence of him and his younger teammates or be hiding some surprise cameos. Unless it's the latter, Powell's Thorn will be sorely missed if he doesn't return.
