Mickey Rourke Joins 'The Expendables'

Right on the heels of word that Forest Whitaker was in talks to join The Expendables, Variety reports that Mickey Rourke has signed on. Holy machismo, Batman! The Sylvester Stallone-directed (and written) film will star Sly, Jet Li, and Jason Statham as badass mercenaries (according to the original news) who head to South America to overthrow a dictator, and this latest news adds that both Randy Couture and Dolph Lungdren are also title characters.

Rourke, unfortunately, won't be one of the mercenaries. Instead, he's "an unscrupulous arms dealer who becomes the go-to guy" for the Expendables. Mix all that testosterone with Whitaker possibly playing a CIA liaison for the group, and Ben Kingsley circling the project, and you've got one heck of an unconventional action film -- UFC fighters*, action stars, has-beens, and praised actors. It also means that the dictator is screwed. I'm not sure any man could face these men (as a group) and live.

Now, if only Rourke didn't go and get that darned plastic surgery. He looked much tougher beforehand.

*Corrected thanks to Angry_Robot.