Actors (L-R) Antonio Banderas, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Kellan Lutz pose on the red carpet for the German premiere of "The Expendables 3" in the western German city of Cologne August 6, 2014.
Actors (L-R) Antonio Banderas, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Kellan Lutz pose on the red carpet for the German premiere of "The Expendables 3" in the western German city of Cologne August 6, 2014. REUTERS

“Expendables 3” features two gay characters in love with each other, according to Australian director Patrick Hughes.

Spoiler warning: The following contains scenes from the film, which is currently showing in theatres.

In an interview with Grantland, Hughes described how he, a relatively new filmmaker, was able to get the gig and direct veteran movie superstars in the big budget ensemble action film.

“Day one, take one I think I had eight of ‘em lined up,” the director said. “I had a megaphone and told ‘em where they were going to stand, what we were going to do, and how it was going to go. [But] as soon as you call ‘cut,’ they all start talking and after a while, it just felt like a kindergarten class.

“I’ve got a 5-year-old. You’re just trying to wrangle them all. You’ve got to use that megaphone a lot.”

He also talked about the film’s character development, including two possible gay protagonists.

In the final setting of the film, all the Expendables hang out in a bar to unwind after the film’s climatic encounter. While the others are drinking and singing and just having a good time, Trench Mauser (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Yin Yang (Jet Li) look too cosy together for just former comrades.

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) sees them and asks if they “want to get a room?” which prompts Mauser to reply that they don’t need one before pulling Yang towards him. Yang then rests his head on Mauser’s chest, laughing with Mauser and noting how jealous Ross is.

Are the two just ribbing Ross or are they really together?

“I believe they are,” Hughes said, hinting that he just got away with incorporating gay characters in love in the testosterone-packed film.

The filmmaker got the directing job after the screening of his self-financed film “Red Hill.” Stallone saw the film and couldn’t stop raving about it.

“...he can’t stop talking about it and he’s a huge fan,” Hughes said of Stallone’s reaction to his film.

“Expendables 3” took a tumble a few weeks before it was due to hit theatres on August 15. A DVD-quality of the film was leaked online, allowing hundreds of thousands of viewers to pirate a copy. This perhaps has contributed to its slow box office return, earning only $5.9 million on its first day in the U.S.

The film stars Stallone, Scwarzenegger, Li, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford.