Sylvester Stallone is tapping out of The Expendables 4 after reportedly striking creative differences with its bosses.
The old-dudes-blow-stuff-up franchise was launched with a 2010 film that famously featured '80s action icons Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis together for the first time.
Its two sequels added the likes of Chuck Norris, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes and Jean-Claude Van Damme to a roster that also included Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren.
Stallone is said to have argued with Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner over many aspects of the fourth film, including its script, director and which visual effects company to use.
The Rambo star wrote the first three films and directed the first, as well as starred in them, and was to write the fourth. Industry sources say the disagreements are so great he's quitting the franchise altogether, although Lerner isn't so sure.
"We've got disagreements with Sly, but we've had them for over a year and a half," he told Deadline.
"We agreed on 95 percent of things, but there are certain things in production we don't agree on. I don't think it's over... In my opinion, it's not dead."
Stallone admitted watering down the violence for a PG-13 rating was a mistake on The Expendables 3, promising a return to R-rated bloodiness in the fourth film.
But alas, he won't be around to make sure, as Barney Ross puts away his skull-decorated beret and abandons his boys for good.
Newshub.