Hollywood
Steven Seagal never appeared in The Expendables because of his hatred for Van Damme
The dispute between Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme was the main reason why Seagal could not appear in a movie of ‘The Expendables’, Stallone’s popular action saga.
It is no secret that Steven Seagal is a controversial figure who has had many quarrels and feuds with other action movie stars such as Van Damme. And it is precisely this animosity and reluctance to get along with the Belgian that is the main stumbling block preventing him from appearing in a movie of ‘The Expendables’, the saga created by Sylvester Stallone as a tribute to his fellow guild members. In Seagal’s own words, there are people in these movies he doesn’t like, referring to familiar faces such as Jean-Claude Van Damme himself and producer Avi Lerner.
Steven Seagal will never appear in ‘The Expendables’ movie because of his feud with Van Damme
In a 2014 interview for the Big Issue media, and with ‘The Expendables 3′ about to be released, Seagal revealed why he has never appeared in a movie of this blockbuster saga created by Stallone. Basically, the actor claimed that he didn’t like a lot of the people who participated in those movies. He limited himself to “naming the sin” but not the “sinner”, avoiding giving specific names.
But even if he didn’t name names, considering his past problems with Jean-Claude Van Damme and knowing that the Belgian was involved in the second installment, released in 2012, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to think that the main person he wouldn’t want to cross is Van Damme. And the feeling was mutual back then, as JCVD vetoed Steven Seagal in ‘The Expendables 2′ if he wanted Sylvester Stallone to count on him.
Another reason that would have made him not even consider appearing in the saga in general could also be the strong rumors about JCVD’s return as a new villain in a then future movie of ‘The Expendables’. His character in ‘The Expendables 2′ was Jean Vilain, and the actor joked that he “might return” as his twin brother named Claude Vilain, a reference to both his own name and the twin brothers as a recurring theme in his filmography.
Though Van Damme buried the hatchet in 2023 for what he considers past quarrels, Seagal would still have a dislike for the actor, because for some of the comments he made about the Belgian in the 90s, JCVD went after him at a party where they met at Stallone’s house with the intention of beating him up.
Avi Lerner in the spotlight: Seagal’s Other Big Enemy
Another of the people involved in The Expendables films that Seagal has a grudge against is producer Avi Lerner, who helped finance the first three installments. Lerner has worked with Seagal in the past on some of his direct-to-video films, but their relationship became strained and the actor went so far as to sue Lerner and his production company, claiming they owed him money.
Lerner and his team first sued the actor because they felt Seagal was interfering with the filming of movies like ‘Mercenary’ and ‘Today You Die’. These were direct-to-video feature films released in the 2000s, very much in the vein of other productions by former action stars who fell from grace and were relegated to these lesser projects.
Avi Lerner has been a prolific producer of action films, taking under his wing such stars as Van Damme, Seagal himself, Wesley Snipes, Stallone, and Dolph Lundgren. All of these actors, except for Steven Seagal, have appeared in at least one installment of ‘The Expendables’.
The future of the ‘The Expendables’ series
Last but not least, Steven Seagal may never appear in another ‘The Expendables’ movie for another compelling reason: there may be no more ‘The Expendables’. ‘The Expendables 4′ was released in 2023 and has been one of the most resounding box office failures of productions of this caliber, as it barely managed to gross $50 million on its $100 million budget, effectively causing huge financial losses for its production companies.
Critics have not been kind either, with aggregators such as Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 14% rating, while IMDb is more generous, giving it a 4.8/10, which still falls short of the pass mark. Due to its box office performance and poor reviews, there is already talk in Hollywood circles that this fourth installment has killed the saga.