The testosterone fuelled success of the Expendables franchise both in terms of its box office haul and reinvigorating the careers of countless former action superstars may span an unlikely all-female version.

Dredd producer Adi Shankar is reportedly keen to persuade a host of female action stars to band together for their own ensemble adventure. Shankar is currently in talks with several as yet unidentified big-name stars with plans to put his own money behind the project.

Expendables 2 director Simon West, who was previously  responsible for  Angelina Jolie’s gun totting performance as Lara Croft  in Tomb Raider, has already given his reaction to the news and seem to lie the idea.

“I like the idea of seven or eight women mercenaries. It would be Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Milla Jovovich, the list goes on. Helen Mirren, Jamie Lee Curtis would be great.”

Fanboys are already eagerly speculating which action heroines might feature, with names like Carrie Anne Moss, Sigourney Weaver, Uma Thurman, Michelle Rodriguez, Michelle Yeoh, Linda Hamilton, Kate Beckinsale , Summer Glau and Gina Carano all being mentioned with various degrees of seriousness.

It remains to be seen exactly who Shankar actually has in mind and whether or not fans have as much interest in watching women of a certain age blow things up as they clearly do in older gentlemen with explosive anger management issues.