It seems as though Sylvester Stallone has become “expendable” and that the Oscar Winner is departing The Expendables franchise after three films. The actor, who helped start the series in the first place, has apparently left after disagreements with Nu Image/Millenium Films chief Avi Lerner which have reportedly been going on for a year according to Deadline.

Sylvester Stallone - The Expendables

Stallone was instrumental in getting the project off the ground in the first instance, writing and directing the film before co-writing parts two and three (Simon West and Patrick Hughes took over directing duties respectively) but it seems he and Lerner had different opinions and is has led to them going their separate ways. Though despite this, Lerner suggests it may not be over just yet, telling Deadline:

“We’ve got disagreements with Sly, but we’ve had them for over a year and a half. Right now, each one has opinion. We agreed on 95% of things, but there are certain things in production we don’t agree on. I don’t think it’s over, but what write whatever you want. In my opinion, it’s not dead.”

See also: The Expendables 3 World Premiere Interviews including Avi Lerner

Whether or not Stallone can be lured back for a fourth film remains to be seen but you would imagine that if he was indeed to leave then the rest of the core cast, including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren and co, would follow suit as the Rocky star was the catalyst for many of them joining in the first place.

The first Expendables, released in 2010, grossed $274.5million worldwide while the sequel, released two years later, fared even better bringing in $315million. Sadly the third film only managed $214.7million, with only $39million grossed in the US – though its box office suffered somewhat after the infamous leak of the film weeks before release.