Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables franchise has been populated by every cinematic tough guy on the block, from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger to Chuck Norris and Jason Statham. So when Nicolas Cage reportedly had to drop out of the upcoming The Expendables 3, Stallone naturally turned to a replacement in… Kelsey Grammer? 

 

OK, so the sophisticated comedian best known for playing Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers and its subsequent spin-off isn’t the first (second, third, fourth or fifth) name you might land on for an Expendables part. But Deadline reports that Grammer indeed is in line to take over the role of Bonaparte, an ex-mercenary who helps Stallone and his crew on their next mission. 

 

 

It might not be as strange as it seems. Grammer has parlayed his popularity into a string of villainous roles lately. He’ll play the antagonist in Michael Bay’s fourth Transformers movie, Age of Extinction. And he’s fresh off a well-received run on the Starz series Boss, which was recently canceled.   

 

Grammer just doesn’t snap snuggly into the list of names Stallone has recruited for his third Expendables – names like Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Jet Li, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren and Wesley Snipes. Then again, Mickey Rourke isn’t a bankable, old-school action guy, and he played a pivotal role in early Expendables stories. 

 

So while we’re disappointed we won’t get to see Cage chewing scenery along side his A-list action brethren in Expendables, Grammer is a decent choice, and we’re excited to see what he brings to the sequel when it opens in theaters on Aug. 15, 2014.