Sheldon Lettich - the writer of both
Bloodsport and Rambo III and a long time associate of Van Damme, has told JCVD fan site VanDammeFan.net that the Belgian star has accepted a role in
The Expendables 2 and that he will be playing one of the principal villains. Lettich (who was also writer-director behind
Double Impact and Lionheart) was actually advised by Van Damme himself that he would be playing a villain, presumably against Bruce Willis, who has long been set to play the main villain in the movie. As that hasn't yet confirmed so who knows we may going to see Van Damme squaring off head to head with Sylvester Stallone for the first time in their careers.
As always with these things this should be considered a rumor until it is officially confirmed by the production company but there is no doubt at all that the information actually came from Lettich and that Lettich is in a position to know, so it's about as reliable as these things can be.
For the past few moths, Sylvester Stallone has gone back and forth on whether or not he will return to direct
The Expendables 2. Even it was heard that he was looking for a director to take over the project so he could focus more on the acting part of the job. Of course, that could change again anytime in the near future.
Stallone is set to star along with Thomas Jane in the Walter Hill-directed
Headshot before embarking on The Expendables 2.
Sources:
movieweb.com, twitchfilm.com