Megan Fox’s The Expendables 4 role is going to replace a forgotten character from the franchise. Directed by Scott Waugh, the fourth installment in the successful action series focuses heavily on familiar faces from the prior three films including Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Gunnar Jesse (Dolph Lungren), and Toll Road (Randy Couture) but it will be adding a few new ones. Over the years, several high-profile stars have come and gone from the franchise, with each new movie providing an opportunity to introduce new characters like the one played by Fox.
The latest trailer opens with Fox's character having a reunion with Christmas that's interrupted by Ross, and she's later seen helping Ross's team on a special mission to ensure nuclear missiles don't cause World War III. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't in The Expendables 4, and neither are Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Terry Crews, or Antonio Banderas, but most of the old gang is back together. While Fox isn't the only new blood, with 50 Cent, Iko Uwais, and Tony Jaa also coming on board to fill in a few vacancies left by characters who won't be returning, she'll be replacing a character who hasn't been seen since Expendables 2.
Megan Fox Plays Statham’s New Love Interest (Replacing Charisma Carpenter)
Based on the latest trailer, Fox will be playing Statham's new love interest, replacing a role that Charisma Carpenter played in Expendables 2. After she surprises him in his house, the two get into a brawl that looks like something out of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, with quick interplays of guns, knives, and double entendre, and it's clear that not only were they once lovers, but she's just as skilled as he is when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and weapons handling. Later in the trailer, the pair are seen in bed together, with Fox's character holding a large knife after what looks like a very intimate moment.
From her appearances in the Transformers and TMNT franchise, Fox brings her own experience in action movies to the ensemble. As The Expendables franchise has progressed, it's been an ode to '80s and '90s action movies, and with her presence can pay homage to the '00s as well. Even with the inclusion of Ronda Rousey and Yu Nan, women haven't played very many key roles throughout the other three movies, except for Carpenter's Lacy, so Fox can have a measurable impact and influence on Expen4bles as someone integral to the team.
Why Charisma Carpenter Hasn’t Returned Since Expendables 2
Charisma Carpenter had a prominent role in both The Expendables and The Expendables 2 as Lee Christmas's on-again-off-again love interest, and after being estranged in the first film because of his dangerous missions, they were finally committing to each other in the sequel. Despite Lacy being in love with him and planning their wedding, she was never seen again in The Expendables 3, arousing suspicion among fans as to what happened to Charisma Carpenter's Lacy after Expendables 2. Fortunately, the sequel's audio commentary with director Simon West provided a clue about the sudden change.
According to West, Christmas was supposed to reveal to Ross, who warned him against getting married, that he had broken off the engagement with Lacy over the phone. This scene didn't make the cut, perhaps to leave room for Carpenter's character in Expendables 3, but Lacy was never even mentioned. If she doesn't come up in The Expendables 4, then it's likely that the events of the deleted scene did occur, and Christmas continued his life as a mercenary. Not only would his romance with a fellow mercenary like Fox's character make more sense, but make room for another female character with more to offer the plot.
