Sylvester Stallone and His Expendables Bring Manly Men to Comic-Con

Geekfest gets a hit of testosterone, plus all the other awesome news of Day One

By Jen Yamato Jul 23, 2010 2:30 AMTags
Sylvester Stallone, Bruce WillisKevin Winter/Getty Images

Sylvester Stallone and the burly cast of The Expendables were the big guns Thursday at Comic-Con, where Hall H got a sudden injection of testosterone courtesy of Sly, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Randy Couture and Terry Crews—the latter of whom took off his shirt to show the geek boys and girls what a real six-pack looks like!

Costar Bruce Willis, who repped the Red panel earlier in the day, also popped in as the brawny bunch entertained the audience with raucous clips and tales of errant punches, hospital visits, and the one time that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin accidentally broke Stallone's neck while filming a scene. Yes, you read that right. He broke Stallone's neck.

Speaking of insanity, that's the cheeky reason Stallone gave when asked why Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal or the Muscles From Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme, declined to costar in the most action-filled action pic of the year. (Or, as Crews put it: "The manliest movie ever made!")

Maybe Sly can fit you into The Expendables 2, fellas?

What else had Comic-Con abuzz on Day One?

Megamind star Will Ferrell showed up in blue paint and a full-body homemade cosplay outfit to kick off the annual geekfest in true Comic-Con fashion.

• Joss Whedon officially confirmed what nerds everywhere already know—that he's directing The Avengers. (Duh!) Expect more actual Avengers talk (and perhaps a few special guests) at this weekend's big Marvel panel.

The always-secretive J.J. Abrams teased his next film, Super 8—a movie inspired by Abrams' college restorations of Steven Spielberg's childhood films.    

• Michelle Rodriguez, at the Battle: Los Angeles Q&A, explained why she always takes on "butch" female action roles instead of "[getting] raped and [winning] an Oscar": "I tend to gravitate towards physical things. The majority of the time those are action films, and I have to stick with what's out there." Later, Rodriguez joined director Robert Rodriguez and costar Danny Trejo to serve Machete-themed tacos to fans in downtown San Diego.

Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Johnny Depp) surprised Comic-Con fans for the second year in a row (!) with a video message recruiting pirates to join him on his next voyage.

Also making an unscheduled appearance: Guillermo del Toro, who announced plans to adapt Disney's Haunted Mansion into a "scary" feature film.

After his Superbad costar Jonah Hill announced he'd be playing the Hulk in The Avengers, Michael Cera showed up to the Con dressed as Captain America, in honor of absentee Scott Pilgrim vs. the World costar Chris Evans. Look for Evans at Saturday's Marvel panel, where the real Hulk just might be revealed.

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    Daily 10 is at Comic-Con all week, make sure to watch at 7:30 p.m.