All-Female “Expendables” Spinoff Officially Moves Forward as “The Expendabelles”

Eclectic Pictures and Hollywood Ventures Group are officially developing a female-led expansion of The Expendables franchise. The project is currently titled The Expendabelles, and the information comes from a report by The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the report, the film is being designed as an origin story set in the late 1990s. The story will take place during the Y2K era, a time marked by global tension and uncertainty about major technological collapse. Instead of continuing the original team’s storyline, the new film will introduce a fresh group of elite female operatives.

The producers described the project as a stylized action film that will expand the world of The Expendables while also standing on its own. In a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, they explained the direction of the movie and its place in the franchise, saying it is being developed “with the support of Lionsgate.”

The idea of a female-led version of The Expendables has been in discussion for years. The original franchise launched in 2010 with Sylvester Stallone leading a cast of major action stars. That film became a box office success, earning over 100 million dollars worldwide and leading to multiple sequels.

Over time, the franchise became known for assembling large casts of action veterans, including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Mickey Rourke. Later films added even more well-known names such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, and Antonio Banderas.

Attempts to create a female-led version have been made before. One earlier version in development around 2014 was set to be directed by Robert Luketic, with a script by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah. That version focused on female operatives in a high-risk rescue mission but never moved forward.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the challenges previously mentioned by Millennium Films executive Jeffrey Greenstein was “trying to find a way to justify why we’d have a woman team.” That earlier project ultimately stalled and was never produced.

Now, Eclectic Pictures and Hollywood Ventures Group are reportedly in the packaging stage for The Expendabelles, actively putting together creative talent and planning the next steps for production. The goal is to build a new ensemble cast and expand the franchise in a different direction while keeping its action-heavy style.

At this stage, no casting announcements have been made, and the film is still in early development.

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