New ‘Expendables 3’ Trailer Promises Explosive Battles and Combustible Stars

Where were The Expendables when Wesley Snipes needed to be sprung from the clink?

In a case of art imitating life, the new trailer for The Expendables 3 finds Snipes yet again behind bars. But unlike in the real world — in which Snipes recently finished serving a nearly three-year-long stint for tax evasion —the former action star has Sylvester Stallone’s team of former A-listers on his side. As they are wont to do, the Expendables come to the rescue, and Snipes is welcomed back to the gang with open, muscular arms. With a knowing wink, Snipes proclaims, “There’s no better place to be,” and we get the sense he means it.

But he’s not the only once-untouchable star joining the cast: Mel Gibson — whose post-scandal output has been scant — plays Conrad Stonebanks, whose regal-sounding name is undermined by his bad attitude and deep need for revenge. In one menacingly delivered bit of exposition, Stonebanks reminds Stallone’s character, Barney Ross, of their iffy past: “We were close once. We started the Expendables together, but we had a falling out.” Sorting out their differences, apparently, will require a lot of explosions and fistfights, not to mention a high-flying motorcycle.

With all that excitement, somehow, the trailer still manages to find face-time for all the returning members of the team (including Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Jet Li), as well as new recruits Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Kelsey Grammer, and mixed martial-arts fighter Ronda Rousey. They’re just some of the nearly 7,219 cast members you can watch in action when The Expendables 3 blasts into theaters August 15.