Confirmed: The Expendables 4 will arrive in 2017

Despite collectively having been 'too old for this shit' for some years now, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and chums are about to dust off their assault rifles for one more adventure, with Variety reporting that The Expendables 4 is officially a go. The new film will reportedly begin production in 2016 ahead of a 2017 release date.

At this stage, it is unclear just who will be returning for the fourth film, but we’d imagine the core group will be largely unchanged, with some high-profile additions likely to be added along the way. Steven Seagal has still yet to do one, while Nicolas Cage is another who's been frequently linked to the series. Both are likely to feature on Stallone’s casting hit-list, but for now we'll have to wait and see.

The announcement comes in the wake of a deal with SP International Pictures on behalf of SSXH Beijing and Max Screen Film Distribution, which includes equity investments and Chinese distribution rights. Chinese locations have also been offered to the production, so don’t be surprised to see our grizzled heroes doing some Eastern globe-trotting next time out.