'He said he'd drop out unless he got $4million': Bruce Willis ditched from The Expendables 3 after demanding fee of $1million PER DAY

By MIKE LARKIN and LOUISE SAUNDERS

For most people, the prospect of earning a staggering $3million for just four days work would sound like a pretty sweet deal. 

But not Bruce Willis, who was reportedly ditched from upcoming movie The Expendables 3 - penned by Sylvester Stallone - after demanding an astronomical $4million fee.

Despite already commanding a rather generous pay packet for the role, which required four days of consecutive work on location in Bulgaria, the 58-year-old actor is said to have wanted an eye-popping million dollars a day.

Ditched: Bruce Willis has reportedly been ditched from upcoming movie The Expendables 3 - penned by Sylvester Stallone - after demanding an astronomical $4million fee for just four days' work

A source told The Hollywood Reporter: 'He said he'd drop out unless he got $4million. A million dollars a day. Stallone and everybody else involved said no.'

And the demands didn't appear to have gone down too well with Stallone, who replaced Willis on the project with fellow A-list actor Harrison Ford within just 72 hours.

The source added: 'I think [Willis] was pretty surprised he was replaced in 72 hours by Harrison Ford - a better actor, a much nicer person and a more interesting direction for the film.'

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Stallone raised eyebrows in Hollywood on Tuesday when he launched an astonishing attack on his fellow action man.

Moments after announcing the Die Hard favourite was being replaced by Harrison Ford in the third film in his Expendables franchise, the 67-year-old branded his former colleague 'greedy,' 'lazy' and a 'failure' on his Twitter page. 

It would have been a surprise for fans of the series, as Willis appeared in both the previous films as Mr Church, a CIA agent who would pay the film's eponymous band of mercenaries to carry out dangerous missions.

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Stallone's announcement on Twitter initially seemed upbeat,as he said: 'WILLIS OUT... HARRISON FORD IN !!!! GREAT NEWS !!!!! Been waiting years for this!!!!'

However it seemed there was more to the casting change than initially met the eye, as moments later he wrote: 'GREEDY AND LAZY ...... A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE.'

A spokesman for Stallone, who created the franchise, confirmed the actor had been talking about his old colleague and rival, but refused to comment further.

Willis has yet to respond to his old boss' online caning, while MailOnline has contacted his representative about the latest claims. 

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Ford is one of the premiere icons of the 70s and 80s after starring in the likes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Blade Runner.

With studio bosses eager to cash in on the success of the last two films, production on The Expendables 3 is set to begin this month for a 2014 release.

Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes and Milla Jovovich are slated to join, while Lethal Weapon star Mel Gibson has also been tipped for a role.

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