Action movie icons Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone have crossed paths on multiple occasions, thanks in no small part, to The Expendables franchise. The meeting between their characters – and that of Arnold Schwarzenegger – in the first entry of the film series was one of the movie’s most anticipated scenes.
Today, Sly and the Governator are extending words of compassion to the Die Hard alum after it came to light that Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). But there was a time when Stallone slammed Willis as “greedy and lazy” and replaced Willis in The Expendables for Harrison Ford. What happened?
Sylvester Stallone excitedly replaced Bruce Willis for ‘The Expendables 3’
Willis, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger first met in 2010’s The Expendables, marking the first time all three action heroes shared the screen at the same time. When he played Mr. Church on this particular occasion, it was only a little cameo role. But three years later, in The Expendables 2, Willis played a larger part alongside his former coworkers.
The Expendables was set up for a third entry, with Willis set up to return. The plot called for Willis to have a smaller role and he would be asked to shoot for four days, paid $3 million as his salary. That’s when Willis objected, demanding $4 million.
Back in 2013, a source told The Hollywood Reporter, “He said he’d drop out unless he got $4 million. A million dollars a day. Stallone and everybody else involved said no.” But things grew more tense still.
Lots of ups and downs for the three icons
With Willis sticking to his demands, and the Expendables team unwilling to meet them, Willis made good on that source’s warning and parted ways with the franchise. Following the move, Stallone at the time took to Twitter and announced, “WILLIS OUT… HARRISON FORD IN !!!! GREAT NEWS !!!!! Been waiting years for this!!!!” Then, he shared another post that seems to have since been deleted but continues to exist as screenshots saved on other sites: “GREEDY AND LAZY …… A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE.”
A spokesperson for Stallone confirmed it was Willis that Stallone was referring to in those passionate tweets.
Similar to their rivalry with Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Stallone likewise attempted to undermine each other’s initiatives. However, they now consider one another to be friends and even go on holidays together. Sly and Willis experienced a similar phenomena along the way, and the previous team of coworkers is seeking to rejoin in order to help Willis as he fights FTD.
