Rumor: Mel Gibson The Villain In 'The Expendables 3'

The Expendables 3 is going full steam ahead. It's got directorPatrick Hughes, a release date of August 2014, and a slew of brand new stars likely to join. They include Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Nicolas Cage and Milla Jovovich.

But who could be powerful enough, or evil enough to tackle that string of stars along with returning players Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture? It might end up being someone mentioned as a possible cast member a few months back: Mel Gibson. The actor is once again rumored to be joining the film, this time as the villain.

Showbiz 411 is reporting on the potential casting. Until you hear it from Lionsgate or Stallone on Twitter, take it with a grain of salt, but it seems plausible.

First of all, Stallone confirmed a while back that he had talked to Gibson about possibly directing the film, which he turned down. And Gibson is also playing an evil role in Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills. He obviously knew about the film, talked about it, and potentially sees this as a trajectory to work back into movies, after an unforgettable PR meltdown in recent years.

The first Expendables featured Eric Roberts and Steve Austin in villainous roles, the sequel brought in Jean Claude Van Damme. While some of the new recruits will likely be opposition to the main team, Gibson has just enough cache and baggage to tower above them all. Pure speculation, but I can see Gibson leading some kind of alternate evil team in the film. There are simply too many other names being added, with the possibility of Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Mickey Rourke also all returning, to not have a good guy Expendables and a bad guy Expendables. Get on it Hughes!

What do you think, Gibson vs. The Expendables?