Sylvester Stallone, star and creator of the hero-packed action movie franchise, The Expendables, made a bold and confrontational announcement on Twitter Tuesday when he told his more than 911,500 followers Bruce Willis was being kicked out of the third Expendables film and replaced by Harrison Ford. Not only did the former Rambo star break the news, he had a few choice words for former Die Hard star, Willis in the tweets, seen below.
"GREEDY AND LAZY ...... A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE," Stallone wrote.
Willis previously played the CIA agent known only as Church in the first two films. Church hired Stallone and his mercenary crew, the Expendables. At the moment it is unclear what role Harrison Ford will play in the films but he will be joined by the original cast as well as some new faces as big in the action movie community as any of the previous stars in the first two films. Stallone has teased veterans like Mel Gibson, Steven Seagal, Jackie Chan and Wesley Snipes on his Twitter account.
According to The Wrap, Ford won't be there to replace Willis' character or play a reskinned version of Mr. Churck. Ford is an action star with roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones giving him a seat at The Expendables' table. However, his brand of action isn't typically known for the grit and violence that have become the benchmark of Stallone's films thus far. Still, at the very least the 71-year-old actor won't be out of place punching bad guys or shooting a gun.
Neither Willis or Stallone has commented on exactly what the rift was between the two actors that has caused Willis to exit, or be thrown off, the project but it's clear that it was not over something as simple as a timing conflict. A spokesperson for Stallone confirmed that the "greedy" and "lazy" comments were directed at Willis.
CBS News reports that filming for "The Expendables 3" will begin sometime this month. The original cast is mostly back and Stallone teased a fist fight between his character and Arnold Schwarzenegger's character this time around. The film is being slated for an August 15, 2014 slot.
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter claims Willis was booted from the film because Stallone refused to pay Willis $1 million a day. The actor was offered $3 million for four days of filming in Bulgaria but demanded another million.