Action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li are said to be in final talks with Nu Image/Millennium Films to play a team of mercenaries in The Expendables.

The film has the characters sent to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator to liberate the population. Their team is said to be “expendable”, hired to do jobs no one else will.

Stallone is set to direct the film from his original screenplay. Shooting begins in February 2009 in Costa Rica and Louisiana.