What do Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan have in common? They’ve all worked on projects with Alan Ng, an acclaimed stunt coordinator who lent a skilled hand to Expend4bles, now in theaters. The fourth franchise addition is directed by Scott Waugh, who has also helmed Need for Speed and other big action flicks in the past. We recently caught up with Ng and Waugh in separate interviews to learn more about the creative process behind this latest sequel.

The Expend4bles follows the infamous group of mercenaries taking on a new terror threat overseas. Some of them get captured aboard a ship carrying nuclear weapons at one point, and it’s ultimately left to Christmas (Statham) to save the day — with the help of some masterful martial artists, of course. See what Waugh and Ng had to say about the film below.

Staying ‘On Task’ with Your Expendables

Those who are well versed in this action franchise know that the Expendables “kill with fashion,” as Waugh recently told us. And having a bit more freedom with a more adult-suited MPAA rating certainly helps. “It’s always fun to be able to design action sequences and not be handcuffed to trying to stay into the PG-13 box,” said Waugh, referencing the third, more dulled-down sequel from 2014. “Expend4bles gives you everything you want from an Expendables franchise. But it also pays its full respect to the original Expendables that Sly directed, and maintaining that brand message. So that to me was super important.”

Waugh continued to comment on the original film and his goal of returning the francise to O.G. fashion:

“The original Expendables stayed on story, I call it ‘on task.’ And 2 and 3 became a little bit more, ‘Who else can we just put in it?’ And so that’s why I think with this one, they wanted to go back to the original: a little bit smaller, not a revolving door, and stay focused on, ‘What’s the story about?’ And let each character actually have great moments.”

Stallone is a legend by many standards, with an impressive filmography dating back decades. Sure, he’s not wearing the director hat for the new sequel, but that doesn’t mean Waugh and others weren’t working with him closely behind the camera as well. “As a filmmaker, you’d be a fool to not collaborate with somebody like himself,” said Waugh. He continued:

“It was really wonderful talking with Sly, and we would talk about the script. And he’s a terrific writer. His dialogue is unbelievable. So we would always lean on him, ‘Hey, Sly, what can we say here? That’s really funny!’ And he had always candidly come up with something that was hilarious.”

Related: Expend4bles Review: Statham Takes Charge in By-the-Numbers Return to Hard-R Rating

In addition to Stallone, some of the other biggest action-star names in Hollywood grace the screen in this latest installment. Stunt coordinator Ng emphasized how much fun it was working on set with everyone. Expend4bles is rich in intense fight sequences, and one highlight is Statham and Iko Uwais (who plays the villain) duking it out in the thrilling third act. Ng says this was one of the most challenging sequences to coordinate, especially since they only had a day and a half to get it in the can. “Scott, Jason and Iko trusted us to turn up on the day, rehearse it a few times, make a few minor tweaks. Then we filmed the fight,” Ng told MovieWeb. “It was just incredible how we managed to pull it off.”

In terms of other challenging sequences, Waugh commented on the general importance of focusing on what Stallone had started with the franchise, and being mindful of what Waugh calls the “directorial balance of, ‘What should I be doing, and what should I not be doing?'” More specifically, another difficult sequence to shoot was the motorcycle chase, which also takes place in the third act. “I wanted to do something special and fun and cool that you hadn’t seen,” he said, adding:

In today’s climate, that’s very complicated because pretty much everything’s been done, but I don’t remember a motorcycle chase sequence on a ship. So I think it’s one that was challenging, but worth it.

Related: 10 Action Movie Flops We Think Are Actually Good

Working with the Greats and Future Projects
Lionsgate

The dynamic of the Expendables is win-win, as Waugh will tell you, since the principal players can both do their own stunts and deliver funny lines. This certainly made his job more fun as a director. “It was always just trying to create those heroic moments with each character, and giving them these special little one-liners, zingers that you expect when you go to see an Expendables movie because that’s the idea with Expend4bles,” he said.

It’s escapism, and it’s like, ‘Let’s get out of our dark world and go and enjoy.’ I felt obligated as a filmmaker to give you entertainment. If you’re going to spend that kind of money, I don’t think you should leave more depressed.

Outside the Expendables films, Ng has worked with plenty of other big-name action stars. He told us his favorites to work with are Statham, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan. When it comes to action movie stunts, Chan perhaps takes the cake, and Ng has been a member of Chan’s stunt team for a while now. Ng commented on the perks of working with the Rush Hour star:

“It’s really a dream come true. Jackie treats the team like big family. For example, in the winter in Beijing, temperatures can drop to -10 and -15. While we are filming, he gives out his custom-designed winter jacket for the team and crew that he paid for himself. It’s not funded by production. In the summer, he pays for craft trucks to have cold drinks, ice cream and fruits. Jackie treats everyone so well, and his kindness has taught us to also spread the same kindness.”

Looking ahead, Waugh says he currently on a movie called Breakout with Arnold Schwarzenegger. “So that’ll be my checkbox, having now directed an action film with all the greatest action stars of the ’80s,” said Waugh. “So I will die peacefully.”

Meanwhile, Ng is keeping busy working with an acclaimed Hong Kong actor and martial artist. “I’m currently working on Raging Fire 2 starring Nicholas Tse,” Ng told us. “I worked on another film with Nicholas Tse called Customs Front Line. It is getting released next year. And I also worked on Jackie’s film The Legend that will be released next year.”

But in the meantime, from Lionsgate, Expend4bles is now in theaters.