Nicolas Cage 'very unlikely' to join Expendables 3

Nicolas Cage has all but smashed the rumours that he is to bag a role in 'The Expendables 3'.

It was thought that the star of actioners like 'Con Air' and 'Face/Off' was set to appear in Sly Stallone's sequel.

The news was even confirmed in a supremely odd post on his Facebook page, but that proved to be false, with Sly himself adding that he had no knowledge of the confirmation.

[Nicolas Cage as Disney Princesses goes viral]

Now Cage himself has weighed in, battering the pesky rumours once and for all.

Speaking to Den of Geek, he said: “I have not had any formal discussions about ['Expendables 3']. I’m not in 'Kick-Ass 2' and I don’t think I’m in 'Expendables 3'.

[Nicolas Cage's most outrageous purchases]

“And I like those guys [Sylvester Stallone et al], but I would say it would be highly unlikely that I’d be in that movie.”

Well that appears to be that, then.

The news does, however, follow confirmation (of sorts) that Mel Gibson is likely to snag a part in the all-action sequel.

Sly tweeted rather uncryptically earlier this week 'Mad Max vs Barney Ross....', leading many to assume that Gibson is on board.

It's rumoured that Gibson could be playing the film's lead villain.

If so, he joins the likes of Jason Statham, Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film, due out in August next year.