Welcome to another shiny new edition of The Digital Wire! Despite that exuberant fanfare, I am sad to announce that this week has been mighty slim in the realm of Blu-ray and DVD release news and the titles we have to report on won’t get much interest as they are all part of tired franchises, but one of the purposes of this feature is to give such titles the space they deserve. Besides, you may be interested in one or more of them.

Below you’ll find info on several future home video releases complete with technical specs, release dates, and links to pre-order at Amazon. We would greatly appreciate it if you use those links to order because a small percentage of each order helps keep this website running at max power. The cover art for certain titles has yet to be finalized.

The theatrical release of Lionsgate’s testosterone-heavy summer action epic The Expendables 3 isn’t scheduled for another three weeks, but that hasn’t prevented the finished film from being leaked online to various torrent sites.

According to Variety the leaked copy of the Patrick Hughes-directed sequel currently in circulation was taken from a DVD screener and downloaded almost 200,000 times around the world in a 24-hour period. That number is expected to increase as the official release of the film approaches.

It’s become sort of a tradition with Sylvester Stallone‘s epic action series The Expendables—each movie is rumored to possibly be getting a PG-13 rating, then ultimately ends up with an R when it’s all said and done. The Expendables 2 famously had Chuck Norris state that the movie would be PG-13 (because young fans shouldn’t have to hear naughty language while watching bad guys get mowed down by big f’n guns), which was confirmed by Stallone, only later to be changed to an R.

As The Expendables 3 has approached, rumors of a PG-13 rating have of course made the rounds. But now comes word that the rating is no longer a rumor, but a sad fact. According to reports, the MPAA has given the teen-friendly flick the rating due to violence, including intense sustained gun battles and fight scenes, and language.

Lionsgate has released an action-packed new trailer for The Expendables 3. You can watch it here below.

This preview not only gives us a gander at the large-scale action set-pieces we’ve come to expect from the franchise but also provides us with some story details. Not much though. We already knew Mel Gibson was playing the villain and was a former friend and partner of Sylvester Stallone‘s character. The good guys get an infusion of young blood. Lots of stuff blows up. Corny jokes and cliched dialogue are exchanged. Rinse, repeat, roll credits.

Lionsgate has released the first trailer for the Patrick Hughes-directed The Expendables 3. The film brings back the action geriatric crew for an all new mission and they are joined by new faces, some just as old or fresh to the industry of description.

There really isn’t much to the trailer itself since it’s just one big head count. The movie also stars Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammar, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wesley Snipes, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Ronda Rousey, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, and Kellan Lutz.

Hit the jump to see the full trailer and synopsis.

A while back, Nicolas Cage was said to be in the mix for a role in The Expendables 3, but nothing ever came of it. Instead, it’s being reported that Kelsey Grammer has joined the cast, and will be playing the role that Cage was rumored to be up for.

Grammer will be playing an ex-mercenary named Bonaparte who helps the Expendables with their mission. The actor also recently signed on to play the villain in Transformers 4.

Mere days after we announced that Bruce Willis had bailed out of co-starring in The Expendables 3 over a measly million bucks (because what’s a lousy million $$$ between good friends? Apparently a lot more than just a million dollars on its own) only to be replaced by much bigger – and reportedly much nicer – Hollywood action icon Harrison Ford, the production has added another pair of heavy hitters to its cast.

Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. is reporting that Mel Gibson and Antonio Banderas – both long-rumored to be up for roles in the soon-to-film franchise action sequel – have joined The Expendables 3. Though the part being played by Banderas has yet to be revealed, Gibson is said to be playing the film’s main villain. Both actors are also appearing in similar roles in the upcoming Machete Kills. Several months ago Stallone hinted at the possibility of Gibson directing the sequel before the job was handed to Patrick Hughes.

Recently we found out via a tweet by Sylvester Stallone that Bruce Willis was out of The Expendables 3, and that Star Wars and and Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford would be replacing him.

Stallone followed up his announcement with another tweet, one that declared that greed and laziness were quick ways to destroy your career. But no one knew for sure if that was aimed at Willis or someone else.

Now, if a new report is accurate, it appears that that tweet was indeed aimed at Willis, and for good reason.

Sylvester Stallone commonly takes to his Twitter feed to keep fans informed with up-to-the-minute news regarding his latest projects. Lately he’s been blowing up the feed with rumors about who will or won’t be directing/starring in/operating the boom mike on The Expendables 3, which is set for release late next summer.

Today Stallone dropped a mighty big bomb – bigger than Rhinestone even – about the latest old-school action hero to join him, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and whoever else has yet to join the cast. News flash: he’s bigger than the entire cast combined…Harrison Ford. And even more interesting is this is apparently not a casting addition, but a replacement of Bruce Willis.

Much of what livens up the testosterone-fueled action film franchise, The Expendables, are the legendary action stars. The franchise is more concerned about the brutality of the hits and the size of the explosion over the plot of the film. The success of the second film paved the way for The Expendables 3 to happen, and film stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham are very likely to return. Their co-stars Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Arnold Schwarzenegger are reportedly not signed on to reprise their roles in the third, but at this point anything could happen. Red Hill director Patrick Hughes will direct the film.

As if the film couldn’t get any bigger in terms of the cast size, a couple of new additions prove us wrong. Deadline reports that Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Nicolas Cage, and Milla Jovovich are in extensive talks to join the cast of The Expendables 3. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer made the casting confirmation to analyists early this morning.