On his Instagram, Sylvester Stallone bade farewell to his hit Expendables franchise.
The actor, writer, and producer posted a video shot on the European set after he’d wrapped his last scene as mercenary Barney Ross in the fourth film in the series.
“It’s been about 12 years,” the 75-year-old star noted, adding, “it’s time to be moving on.”
“It’s always bittersweet,” Stallone said, explaining he’s “ready to pass the baton to Jason [co-star Jason Statham] in his capable hands.”
Statham played Ross’ buddy Lee Christmas in the successful series that debuted in 2010, and which has highlighted action stars of a certain age, including now-74-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger; Stallone’s Rocky IV nemesis Dolph Lundgren, who is 65; Mickey Rourke, now 69; former MMA fighter Randy Couture and martial artist Jet Li, who are 58; 66-year-old Bruce Willis; 65-year-old Mel Gibson; and Terry Crews, who is a relatively young 53.
To date, the modestly-budgeted Expendables movies have made $800 million worldwide.
The fourth installment, coming out in 2022, adds martial arts legend Tony Jaa, Andy Garcia and Megan Fox to the mix.
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