Part of me secretly hopes The Expendables franchise keeps going – if only so the end of trailer credits blast could get longer and longer with aged action heroes.

There’s a third one on the way this summer, with Mel Gibson as the villain. Supposedly, this will be the last ride for wisecracking merc Barney (Sylvester Stallone) and the rest of his gun-toting gang. Gibson’s a former Expendable who’s looking to take out his old buddies, including, for some reason, Kelsey Grammar.

Wesley Snipes and Harrison Ford have also joined the cast and now my interest is really piqued.

If that’s really the case, hopefully this means that the oft-discussed Expendabelles – same concept, lady badasses, Cynthia Rothrock better be in it – will start making its way toward production.

Sypnosized:

“In The Expendables 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team come face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.”

The Expendables 3 will be in theaters August 15 from Lionsgate.