After axing 'greedy' Bruce Willis from Expendables 3, Sylvester Stallone taps Mel Gibson and Antonio Banderas

Bruce Willis might be out, but here come two fresh additions to the Expendables 3 bandwagon: Mel Gibson and Antonio Banderas.
The news comes via series star and writer Sylvester Stallone, who also directed and co-wrote the first installment and resumed co-writing duties on the second.
Gibson is confirmed to play the baddie in the upcoming sequel, Stallone told Entertainment Weekly, while Banderas' role is still up in the air.

Comeback: Mel Gibson, seen here at the Sean Penn and Friends Help Haiti Home gala on Jan. 12, drew praise for his role and writing in 2012 action pic Get the Gringo

Stallone certainly seems keen on giving the Spanish actor an exciting platform to work on, however, calling Banderas 'a consummate actor and a gentleman' in his statement to EW.
And that's in sharp contrast to the Rocky star's judgment of Willis, whom Stallone took off the project after Willis reportedly asked for $4 million in pay for just four days of shooting.
Stallone even took to Twitter to slam Willis in a thinly veiled comment: 'GREEDY AND LAZY ...... A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE,' he wrote.

Busybody: Banderas, seen here at CinemaCon on April 25, will star in a slew of new movies including Machete Kills alongside Gibson

If Willis is headed toward 'career failure,' it appears as though Gibson going the other way, slowly building a comeback.
Though his erratic behavior, alcohol problems and run-ins with the law in 2006 made him the butt of many jokes, Gibson earned praise for pursuing self-help programs and mending his shattered public persona.
He then worked on a string of warmly received films, most recently starring in Jodie Foster's 2011 dramedy The Beaver and 2012 thriller Get the Gringo, which he also co-wrote.

Back in the game: Gibson attended HBO's party for the 2013 Golden Globes on Jan. 13

Gibson is now set to star in Robert Rodriguez's over-the-top action pic Machete Kills as well as Mad Max: Fury Road - fitting, considering the original Mad Max launched his career.
Banderas, meanwhile, appeared in lauded Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's new film I'm So Excited and is involved in half a dozen other U.S. and Spanish films.
The duo will join new Expendables recruit Harrison Ford (who was brought on just as Willis was cut).
Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Nicolas Cage and Milla Jovovich are also rumoured to join the project, though no confirmations have been given thus far.
The Expendables 3, directed by Patrick Hughes, is currently in pre-production and is slated for a late 2014 release.

Gone baby gone: Willis was kicked off the Expendables 3 after he reportedly asked for a staggering $1 million a day for the four-day shoot