Sylvester Stallone Claims Nicolas Cage ‘Expendables 3’ Rumors Are False

Action star Sylvester Stallone is claiming that rumors regarding Nicolas Cage’s involvement with The Expendables 3 are completely false, according to Deadline.

Rumors began circulating a few days ago that Nicolas Cage had been added to the very large cast of the forthcoming Expendables sequel. Unfortunately, it would seem that the recent official announcement regarding the Ghost Rider star’s involvement wasn’t really all that official.

Stallone told Deadline that he had no personal knowledge of Nicolas Cage’s involvement with The Expendables 3. However, this doesn’t mean that Cage won’t sign on to co-star in the project at some point down the line.

The Huffington Post reports that these rumors were attributed to an interview Stallone supposedly gave to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Unfortunately for Nicolas Cage fans, the quotes were actually taken from a press conference for The Expendables 2 where Stallone mentioned who he would like to work with in the future.

The following statements were recently posted to a Sylvester Stallone fan page:

“We are preparing the film with the same passion and commitment as the previous two. We have confirmed Nicolas Cage, a master actor who gives a veneer intellectual group. Hopefully we can realize to Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes and Mickey Rourke. That is the great mission of the producer. We will continue with the same narrative scheme, the agility and the frenzy, which are inherent to the saga. What will definitely be the last? I can not guarantee. In principle it would be two deliveries, but the affection of the people encouraged us to work on a third. I guess as long as we amused ourselves by offering fun and people, we can continue playing ‘The Expendables’. For now we are not as expendable as it should and as some critics want.”

While this announcement may sound believable enough, the star is currently claiming otherwise. Until a cast has been officially announced, chances are rumors like this will no doubt continue to spiral out of control.

Crave Online asked Nicolas Cage about the Expendables rumors during the actor’s promotional tour for directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Although he claimed he hadn’t been in talks to appear in the sequel, he didn’t seem entirely opposed to the idea.

“I haven’t really pursued that,” he explained. “I don’t know much about it except what I read on the internet. Stallone is somebody that I like and he’s always been very friendly to me over the years so I would consider it but I haven’t had any formal discussions about it.”

Even Expendables producer Avi Lerner has had his comments twisted, dissected, and ultimately taken out of context. During an interview with Total Film in August, Lerner revealed who he would like to see in the next installment of the popular series.

“We’ve approached Clint Eastwood to be one of the guys, we’ve got a character in mind for him. We’re talking to Harrison Ford,” he said regarding possible sequel candidates. “[And we want] Wesley Snipes when he comes back from prison. I’ll give you one more name, we’ve got Nicolas Cage to play [one of the characters].”

Since debuting towards the end of the summer, The Expendables 2 has earned $84 million at the domestic box office. However, the film’s strengths lie in its incredible foreign appeal; the sequel has presently earned over $200 million abroad. It didn’t take long for producers to consider the idea of putting together a follow-up.

While some fans believe Stallone should court such lesser known action heroes as Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Mark Dacascos, B-movie veteran Robert Z’Dar, and former wrestler Roddy Piper, producers seem more interested in chasing down bigger names. Getting Harrison Ford and Clint Eastwood to sign on would certainly draw more people to theaters on opening weekend.

Producers are even putting together an all-female version of The Expendables, a production which counts Haywire star Gina Carano and Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackhoff among the cast. A release date for the spin-off and the follow-up have not been set as of this writing.

Do you think that Nicolas Cage should be cast in the next installment of The Expendables? Do you think Harrison Ford and Clint Eastwood are worthy additions to the series?