As “The Expendables 2” keeps moving toward a start date, the rumored casting for the elderly action flick continues unabated. It was just about a month ago that we got our last look at the proposed assembled team with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis set to appear, and John Travolta and Chuck Norris as the supposed new names. However, curiously missing was Jet Li who played the somewhat offensively named Yin Yang, easily the most energetic member of the cast who was mostly squandered as the butt of the joke in the film. So it looks like Sly and co. are trying to find another familiar martial arts face to step in.
The folks over at Twitch have hipped to a report in the Oriental Daily that none other than Donnie Yen has been offered a role in the upcoming sequel. While Yen’s reps confirm that yes, he is considering the film, they also caution that Yen will need to see a script first and that he has many projects he’s also considering at the moment.
If Yen joins, he would be, along with Statham, one of the youngest (48 years old) and most agile members of the cast, but if he watched “The Expendables” he’s likely concerned that his skills will be put to very little use given the time he’ll have to spend on set. The actor is currently riding high on the success of the recent “Ip Man” films and last month signed on for a Hong Kong remake of “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” entitled “Assassin Couple” that would earn him a pay day of more than $4 million U.S.. Will he get similar cash thrown at him given that mainstream crowds on this side of the ocean have little to no idea who he is? We kind of doubt it. We’d rather see Yen put his talents into films where he won’t be the fifth or sixth wheel to some aging old fogies around him, but if he turns it down, we wonder who the filmmakers will go to next.