12 Action Stars The Expendables Movies Should’ve Used By Now

The Expendables franchise brings together many action heroes - here's a rundown 12 big action stars that The Expendables should have included by now.

The Expendables collects a big ensemble of action heroes, but there are many that the series has overlooked. The Expendables franchise follows a team of mercenaries led by Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross, with the team being deployed on high-stakes and often explosive missions across the globe. Stallone's crew for The Expendables movies has long included Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, with other big action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, and Mel Gibson joining the series along the way.The cast of The Expendables 4 adds new blood to the franchise's roster with Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, though Li, Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Terry Crews do not appear in the fourth installment of the series. However, despite bringing together so many action stars with each entry, there are also quite a few who would add more explosive energy to The Expendables franchise that the series has not managed to bring on board. Here are 12 action stars that The Expendables franchise should have cast by now and who hopefully might eventually join the series.RELATED: Donnie Yen's Brilliant Expendables Idea MUST Still Happen

A legendary Hong Kong star, Chow Yun-fat is well-known for wielding sidearms in blazing gun battles, particularly those under the helm of John Woo. Leading such John Woo-directed "heroic bloodshed" action movies as The Killer and Hard Boiled, Chow Yun-fat brings a distinctive anti-heroic grit that he has also carried into the handful of martial arts films he has tackled, namely Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Bulletproof Monk. Chow Yun-fat would be right at home as a mercenary ally or enemy of The Expendables, but the series has unfortunately never managed to make that happen.

Sigourney Weaver has done plenty of dramatic and comedic work in her career, most famously as Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters franchise, while her signature role stands as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise. Beginning Alien as a woman in over her head against the pursuing xenomorph, Ripley becomes a tough-as-nails warrior in Aliens. The energy of Ripley exclaiming, "Get away from her you b---h!" to the fearsome xenomorph queen is cut right from the same cloth as The Expendables franchise, but Weaver is an action heroine who has yet to board the Expendables train.

The Terminator franchise may be based around protecting John Connor to save humanity from Skynet in the future, but Linda Hamilton's portrayal of his mother, Sarah Connor, is the real heart of the series. Like Ripley in the Alien franchise, Hamilton's Sarah goes from a traumatized target to a warrior with no fear in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. 2019's Terminator: Dark Fate would also bring Hamilton back as Sarah, with Hamilton still embodying a grizzled survivor fully prepared to take down Terminators. The Expendables series could certainly gain an undaunted new ally indeed with Hamilton in the franchise, but that, too, has not come to pass.

A more recent rising star in Hong Kong action movies, Wu Jing first broke out opposite Donnie Yen in Sha Po Lang and later teamed up with Tony Jaa in the 2015 spiritual sequel SPL 2: A Time for Consequences. The former Wushu champion has also been astonishing in such action hits as Invisible Target, Shaolin, Call of Heroes, and the Wolf Warrior movies. Wolf Warrior II, in particular, would become a gargantuan hit in 2017 under Wu Jing's direction, with its combination of martial arts and military action right on the Expendables action movie terrain. Despite that, The Expendables has unfortunately never given Wu Jing the call.RELATED: Kurt Russell's Fast & Furious Character Makes His Reason For Snubbing The Expendables Confusing

Within the pantheon of Hong Kong action movies, Michelle Yeoh is one of its biggest female stars. Yeoh's Hong Kong action movies have included Magnificent Warriors, Police Story 3: Supercop alongside Jackie Chan, and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Yeoh eventually would make the leap to Hollywood as the show-stealing Bond girl Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies and would later star in one of her biggest hits ever in the insane multiverse kung fu comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Expendables franchise has largely lacked female action icons, and Michelle Yeoh would be one of the perfect candidates.

One of the most amazingly gifted and vibrantly animated martial artists in Western action movies, Mark Dacascos, has brought his skills and innate charm to such martial arts films as Only the Strong, China Strike Force, Blade of the 47 Ronin, and the cult classic Drive. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum also would allow Dacascos to really flex his muscles as a villain in the formidable fanboy Zero. The light-hearted martial artist Dacascos embodies could bring more fun and levity to The Expendables franchise, but that opportunity is one that the series has yet to capitalize on.

In the martial arts movie landscape, Michael Jai White has brought his versatility and screen presence to action-packed hits like Blood and Bone, Falcon Rising, Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing, and the Never Back Down series. White's speed and agility as a martial artist are also astonishing with his enormous build, and his powerful presence has seen him portray engaging heroes and villains alike. White would also join the Expendables-esque martial arts ensemble in Triple Threat as the villainous Devereux and White never getting the chance to bring the same energy to The Expendables franchise is another unfortunate casting miss for the series.

Perhaps no Hollywood A-lister is as known for having such a predilection for death-cheating stunt work as Tom Cruise. As an action hero, Tom Cruise has pushed the envelope over and over again as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise, famously doing his own stunts and fight scenes. Additionally, his 2022 mega-hit legacy sequel Top Gun: Maverick would solidify Cruise's determination to wow audiences with incredible action at every opportunity, clearly succeeding in the endeavor with Maverick's $1.49 billion box office haul. Tom Cruise undoubtedly would kick any Expendables movie into overdrive with his drive for stunts and action, making his absence from the series a real missed opportunity.RELATED: Every Actor Who Turned Down The Expendables

Jumping from the pro-wrestling arena to the big screen, Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, has grown into one of the biggest stars on the planet, with much of his career devoted to the action genre. Following his action movie roles in The Scorpion King and The Rundown, The Rock would eventually solidify his action movie stardom as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious franchise, even co-leading the spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw alongside Jason Statham. With his larger-than-life screen persona and imposing physical presence, Dwayne Johnson would be a quite literally tremendous ally for the Expendables had he actually been brought into The Expendables franchise.

Beginning his career as one half of the Bill & Ted duo, Keanu Reeves would gradually move into action movies with Point Break and Speed. Reeves' portrayal of Neo in The Matrix franchise would cement him as an action star, with Reeves subsequently directing 2013's Man of Tai Chi. Reeves would help later push action movies to a whole new level with his portrayal of the legendary Baba Yaga in the John Wick franchise, which itself has arguably surpassed the promise of The Expendables series. Despite Reeves's iconic portrayal of John Wick, he has unfortunately not gotten the chance to join the party of mercenaries.

In his long career in martial arts films, Donnie Yen has been one of the biggest innovators in fight choreography, along with leading a multitude of martial arts classics. Yen would bring MMA into Hong Kong action movies with the fight scenes of Sha Po Lang and Flash Point and would also famously portray Bruce Lee's eponymous Wing Chun mentor in the Ip Man franchise. Yen would also bring his electrifying talents to the role of Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4. Yen previously declined to appear in The Expendables 2, but it remains a shame that no agreement could be reached with Yen being a perfect fit for The Expendables.

Jackie Chan's winning blend of action, comedy, kung fu, and stunt work is nothing short of incredible. Jackie Chan has both headlined and directed some of the most historic Hong Kong action movies ever made, including the Police Story and Armour of God franchises, while his Hollywood hits have included the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon films and his team-up with Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom. Chan has been approached about joining The Expendables franchise repeatedly, but he and Stallone have never managed to finalize an agreement. The one-of-a-kind style of action-comedy that Jackie Chan has established in his career is an unfortunate casting miss for The Expendables franchise.

Brad Curran is a Features Writer and Interviewer for Screen Rant. Brad first joined Screen Rant in 2019, and also contributes to Kung Fu Kingdom. Brad is enamored with epic storytelling in many different genres, and loves stories on both the smallest and the largest scales of filmmaking.