'Legally Blonde' Director to Helm 'The ExpendaBelles', Casting Rumors Surface

Credit: Screen Gems

So instead of just adding a woman to The Expendables, Millennium Films has decided that it would be best to just build a new, Girl Power-fueled project from scratch. And now that proposed film has a director.

Robert Luketic, who directed 2001's Legally Blonde, will direct The ExpendaBelles, a film that will re-team him with Legally Blonde screenwriters Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah. Sylvester Stallone and Kevin King will serve as producers, working alongside executive producers Heidi Jo Markel, Julie Kroll, Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson and Mark Gill. The film is scheduled to begin shooting this summer, so casting is expected to begin soon.

The premise for The ExpendaBelles is as follows: "When America’s Navy SEALs are wiped out trying to penetrate the island lair of a deadly despot who has captured one of the world’s top nuclear scientists, it becomes clear that there is no such thing as the right man for the job and that this is a mission so impossible that only women can handle it. The only way in: some of the world’s deadliest female operatives must pose as high-class call-girls shipped in by private plane to satisfy a dictator–and instead save the scientist and the day. I feel like I watched an X-rated version of this in the 70s, but enough about that."

So the obvious question now is, who will star? Or rather, who should star? Female action stars are few and far between, although there have been a surprising number of high-profile actresses getting into action movies in recent years. Hell, Helen Mirren was as badass as they come in the Red movies.

Of course, we might not actually have to do too much cold speculation, as there are apparently a number of names in consideration by executive producer Avi Lerner, some of whom he'd actually spoken to about the project. Those names included Meryl Streep (!!!), Cameron Diaz and Milla Jovovich (pretty much the first name I thought of when I heard of this project).

Who else would you like to see in the film? Deadline, which broke the story, offered a few suggestions of its own, and their recommendations are damn solid: Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Garner, Kate Beckinsale, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Yeoh, Rhona Mitra, Chloe Moretz, Uma Thurman, Lucy Lawless, Katie Sackhoff, Angela Bassett, Michelle Rodriguez, Lucy Liu, Gina Carano, Pam Grier, Sharon Stone and Brigitte Nielsen. In short, The ExpendaBelles would rely less on action movie nostalgia and stars of yesteryear, and instead focus on building up a roster of bankable stars across eras in order to draw the widest possible audience. It sounds like a savvy plan. It should be interesting to see which actresses actually get the call...and which accept.

Via: Deadline