Jason Statham & Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables Leaves Netflix on October 31

Netflix is making October 31 a real horror show for fans of the action franchise The Expendables, as the first three movies in Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham’s action series are leaving the platform. While Statham has been enjoying huge success across several streaming platforms with both new movies like The Beekeeper and old favorites such as The Mechanic, Netflix subscribers only have a limited time to appreciate his turn as Lee Christmas in the Stallone-led The Expendables and its first two sequels.

Released in 2010, The Expendables is the daddy of all throwbacks to ‘80s action movies, as Stallone brings together one of the biggest ensembles of craggy-faced tough-guys ever put on screen in the same movie. Alongside old hands such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham brought his own action hero persona to the party – one that would eventually see him taking over the lead for much of the franchise’s fourth belated outing.

Although Stallone is the star of the franchise across its first three movies, fans of Statham – and there are many – particularly latched onto the actor’s role as a former British SAS soldier who is handy with a knife, a gun and pretty much anything else that comes his way. Oh, and he will usually kill a bad guy with a charismatic smile and a quip. Lee Christmas’ camaraderie with Stallone’s Barney Ross certainly made him the perfect choice to step up and take control of Expend4bles in 2023, as Stallone took a backseat and handed over the reins to his more than capable successor. However, audiences were not quite as enthusiastic about the fourth film, perhaps due to the near-decade-long wait, and plans for the franchise’s future are now uncertain.

Jason Statham’s Movies Have Dominated Streaming

In one of those quirks that the increased attention on streaming platforms has thrown up, Statham may not have seen his best reviews for Expend4bles, but fans of the Brit cannot stop watching his movies on Netflix, Prime Video, and free services such as FreeVee and Tubi. Whatever it is about the shaven-headed Londoner that keeps people coming back for more, Stath-mania has reached new heights in recent years.

The Beekeeper pulled in a huge audience when it landed on Prime Video in July, six months after a successful theatrical run at the beginning of the year that saw it gross over $150 million from its $40 million budget. Despite already having a strong VOD release in January, its debut on Prime Video saw it become the second most-watched movie on the platform. As one of Statham’s highest rated movies in years (scoring a massive 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes), it seemed to spark off a trend of the actor’s older movies reaping the rewards on the back of its success.

Even Statham’s critically panned movies like The Mechanic, The Meg, and Expend4bles – with its dismal 13% RT Tomatometer score – have continued to appear in various top ten charts, proving that sometimes everyone just wants to watch a bald Brit doing some other-the-top action sequences to get them through another day. While the first three Expendables movies are on their way out of Netflix’s catalog, it will not be long before they find a new home somewhere else. Expend4bles is currently streaming on Starz.

It’s Not All Bad News for Statham Fans

However, as The Expendables leaves Netflix, another popular franchise featuring Statham is about to land on the platform in November. The Fast and the Furious saga’s first six movies will hit the streaming service on the 12th of next month. Debuting in 2001, the franchise has become one of Universal’s biggest franchises, but seemingly peaked just after the arrival of its seventh and eighth entries. Grossing more than $7 billion dollars at the worldwide box office, the Fast & Furious movies have built up a reputation for ridiculous stunts, even more overblown storylines, and an all-star cast.. Jason Statham made a cameo in the end credits sequence of the sixth movie, appearing as Deckard Shaw for the first of several appearances including his own spin-off movie with Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs.

What is Jason Statham’s Next Movie?

For his next action movie, Statham will be once again working with Stallone – in a fashion – as he takes on the role of Levon Cade in Levon’s Trade. The movie is based on the book by Chuck Dixon, one of 10 novels to feature the character, making it a franchise of the future if it can find and connect with the right audience. While Statham is a huge draw in his own right, Levon’s Trade will also reunite the actor with The Beekeeper helmer David Ayer. With that movie having been a huge success in both cinemas and on streaming, it is hard to imaging Statham fans not lapping up this new offering when it arrives in 2025.

Levon’s Trade is a typical action thriller, with Statham playing the former black ops agent who is forced to put his old skills to the test when his peaceful retirement is shattered, and justice needs to be sought. Along side Statham, the movie includes Statham’s Transporter 2 costar Jason Flemyng, as well as David Harbour, and American Hustle’s Michael Peña.