Having been acting regularly in Hollywood since the mid-80s, one might think that the now 59-year-old Dolph Lundgren’s appetite for cinematic badassery would have started to wane at this point in his long career. As it turns out, though, age doesn’t seem to at all be a hindrance to Lundgren’s ongoing career as an action icon, with the actor set to appear in over a half-dozen films over the next couple of years. Lundgren has also branched out into series TV as of late, appearing as villainous Russian gangster Konstantin Kovar on The CW’s Arrow.
Of course, the Swedish-born Lundgren has gotten a lot of mileage out of portraying Russian antagonists, scoring his big break in the film world by playing Rocky IV villain Ivan Drago. Known for telling Rocky “I must break you,” Drago instantly established Lundgren as a force to be reckoned with onscreen. Lundgren would go on to portray He-Man in the cult classic Masters of the Universe movie, as well as the first cinematic incarnation of The Punisher in 1989, along with a major role in the Universal Soldier series. In more recent years, Lundgren’s action chops have been reaffirmed via his inclusion in Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables series, alongside a collection of notable genre titans.
While out promoting his latest film Don’t Kill It, Lundgren let EW know that he is soon set to return to both the Kovar role on Arrow, and the Gunner Jensen role in upcoming sequel Expendables 4. According to Lundgren, he’ll be appearing on at least three more episodes of Arrow, near the end of the current season.
As for Expendables 4 – the purportedly last entry into the franchise – Lundgren says that as far as he’s been told, the sequel is set to begin filming later this year, possibly in the fall. It would make sense for Stallone to not wait too much longer before beginning production on Expendables 4, as the film was previously confirmed to be hitting theaters sometime in 2018.
“I’m going back at the end of the season,” says Lundgren of Arrow. “I’m doing three more [episodes], trying to work it in somehow. I have a lot of fun, because my character talks quite a bit, which is nice, and he’s kind of comedic.”
Expendables 4 presents a chance for Stallone and company to try and send the series out on a high note, after 2014’s PG-13 rated The Expendables 3 largely failed to impress either critics or diehard fans. The film did at least manage to perform decently at the box office, earning $214 million worldwide on a budget of $90 million. The full cast for Expendables 4 has yet to be revealed, outside of Stallone and now Lundgren, however, so stay tuned for more details regarding that film.
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Source: EW