Kurt Russell Opts Out of ‘The Expendables’

With a cast reuniting some of the best action movie actors of the ‘80s and ‘90s, not long ago, Sylvester Stallone’s “The Expendables” promised to be one joyride of killing and slaying in the “Rambo” manner. Now, even with a not-too-good PG-13 rating, the upcoming film still promises a lot both in terms of action and of stars who would be appearing in it. One actor that fans will not see, though, will be Kurt Russell.

Russell was offered a part in the film by Stallone himself, and chose to sit out on this one. According to a posting on Sly’s official fan page, StalloneZone, he contacted his former co-star, Russell, and offered him a part in the film, but he was turned down. No matter how much hype “The Expendables” receives, especially on the Internet, Russell is not interested in being just one name in a long series of celebrities, his agent made it pretty clear.

“I know that many people on the site have asked for Kurt Russell. I asked for him too. Actually, I was taken aback when asked to put the request in a letter and send it to his agent. Subsequently, I was called back by the agent several days later after refusing to send a letter and he said Kurt Russell is not interested in ‘ensemble acting’ at this time. So, People, I came, I saw, I failed. Best, Sly.” reads the post on the aforementioned website.

This, it has been said, is just another clue that Stallone is paying close attention to the Internet and what fans have to say about his upcoming movie. In fact, he may be paying so much attention that he’s making up the cast according to what he reads on the net, it has been said. Just the other day, for instance, when Forrest Whitaker dropped out of the project, Stallone approached rapper 50 Cent to replace him, much to the outrage of his fans.

Only hours after word got out on blogs and movie-oriented e-zines, fans were all up in arms, saying that, whatever Stallone had in mind of doing with “The Expendables,” having 50 Cent there too would certainly ruin it. Later on, 50 Cent was replaced, in his turn, by Terry Crews. “The Expendables” will see theatrical release on April 23, 2010. Since it’s a long way to go until then, keep an eye on this space for more details on this production.