“The Expendables 4” to Start Shooting in Thessaloniki, Greece

Greece’s second largest city of Thessaloniki is preparing to host several Hollywood stars who will descend on the city in November to shoot scenes for the movie “The Expendables 4.”

Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Megan Fox, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Tony Jaa and Andy Garcia will be some of the stars that will participate in the Thessaloniki shooting. Sylvester Stallone maybe be coming too, although it has yet to be officially announced.

The first movie of the franchise debuted in 2010 and the second in 2012, with the movie series making $804 million globally.

Stallone began “The Expendables” franchise in 2010 with the first entry in the series, which he wrote and directed. An ode to the action films the legendary actor made in the 80s and 90s, The Expendables brings together a myriad of actors from the action genre to team up as mercenaries to fight a common enemy.

Subsequent sequels continued to bring in new actors from the genre, featuring stars like Dolph Lundgren, Harrison Ford, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, and more.

The last movie, 2014’s The Expendables 3, was a bit of a disappointment as it opted for a PG-13 rating and sought to beef up the cast with new, fresh faces, rather than the older, more  seasoned ones, which took a bite out of the box office, making it the least profitable of the franchise to date.

Stallone takes back seat in The Expendables 4

The fourth film in the series was recently confirmed, and casting quickly came together with Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, and Randy Couture returning. Newcomers to the series include Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, Tony Jaa, and 50 Cent.

The new film is set to be directed by stuntman-turned-director Scott Waugh, whose previous credits include Act of Valor and Need For Speed. Stallone appears to be taking more of a backseat on the creative front, appearing simply as an actor in this entry and having nothing to do with the production or writing side of things, as he did with the last three movies.

There’s no official plot synopsis yet, but Lionsgate’s Jason Constantine described the film as a “no-holds-barred action film” that will “raise the stakes and be the biggest, most badass adventure yet.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter: “The plot will once again focus on a group of veteran mercenaries. And while the initial movies from in the early 2010s had Stallone as the focal point, sources say in this outing Statham will be the one with the biggest gun. Fox is the female lead.”

Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, is becoming a hub for Hollywood productions. In July, Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth were just some of the world famous actors who filmed there for a star-studded movie — the name of which is still in the works.