Elodie Yung To Play Jinx In G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes
HeatVision reports French actress Elodie Yung is in talks to play the role of Jinx in G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes. Jinx is a Joe who like Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is a member of the Arashikage Ninja Clan. Yung is no stranger to action she had a rather psychical role in the French action film District 13: Ultimatum. She also has a role in David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo playing Rooney Mara’s girlfriend.
Elodie would join Dwayne Johnson (Roadblock), Channing Tatum (Duke) and Ray Park (Snake Eyes). It’s also expected that Byung Hun Lee will return as Storm Shadow since he’s gaining a lot of praise for his work in the Korean thriller I Saw The Devil. I have to admit I’m starting to become impressed with the new additions to the cast. They seem to be actually setting up a viable action film franchise here.
Dwayne Johnson In Talks For G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes
Deadline reports that Dwayne Johnson is circling the role of Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes. The sequel will re-tool the characters and tone of the first film. A bulk of the cast from the first film along with the director won’t be returning for the second installment.
Dwayne Johnson is the first step in the right direction. He’s slowly gaining back the action star credibility he had originally earned from The Rundown. Johnson got distracted with paychecks for terrible family films but with Faster/Fast Five he seems back on track. He’s a legitimate action star which the Rise of Cobra was missing among other things.
For Paramount G.I. Joe 2 might be their big summer film of 2012 as Star Trek 2 is being pushed back to the holiday season. I’d like to think that they know there is a solid fanbase for Joes like with Transformers but they need to reel in the quality to expand interested audiences. New director Jon M. Chu gives the impression he’s an actual fan of the characters and could make a slightly more grounded adventure. Working with a script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool, Zombieland) who are it would be hard not to outdo the original.
G.I. Joe 2 Gets August 2012 Release Date
It looks like Paramount is revving up movement on G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra. As it’s release date has been officially set for August 10th 2012. It’s likely that date will be changed as The Bourne Legacy and the Total Recall reboot are also being released on the same day. This gives the impression that Paramount is going to start production in the next couple of months and expect re-casting announcements soon.
Rachel Nichols Says Duke, Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow Are The Only Ones Returning For G.I. Joe 2
Actress Rachel Nichols who starred in Rise of Cobra tweeted that the only returning cast members would be Channing Tatum, Ray Park and Byung-Hun Lee. While this doesn’t seem too shocking it does speak volumes on the direction Paramount and new director Jon M. Chu will be going with the sequel.
I wouldn’t be shocked if they go for a bit of a reboot with the sequel. The first film while fun did a lot of damage to the canon of the franchise. Mainly ruining the look and characteristics of the Baroness and Cobra Commander essentially the best villains of the series likely contributed by recently ousted director Stephen Sommers.
I’m still on the fence about Tatum as an actor as he hasn’t given a lot of standout performances but playing a role like Duke doesn’t need a awards caliber actor. Ray Park was solid as rock in the first film except his costume’s mask looked more like a bondage outfit. Hopefully they fix all the awful costume issues in the new film. Lee also was excellent in the film and will be gathering a lot of film geek praise for his role in the Korean thriller I Saw The Devil.
It’s not surprised they aren’t asking Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller and Christopher Eccleston as they phoned in their performances. Talented actors like Joesph Gordon and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje could have gone onto greener pastures as they have since been involved in some high profile projects making them more expensive. I’d like to see them bring in some new talent but keep the Cobra characters in place and even expanding on them.
Jon M. Chu Chosen To Direct G.I. Joe 2
Deadline reports that Paramount Pictures has decided on a director for G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra. It’s Jon M. Chu who is best known for the Step Up series and the Justin Bieber documentary Never Say Never. It’s an odd choice but seems like the studio wants to keep the project in check. Hiring a lesser known name could allow them to have more control over the production and not let it slip into the bizarre zone like Sommer’s film did. I don’t think this is a terrible choice but it will be met with some skepticism until we get a trailer. He hasn’t finalized a deal with the studio but is the frontrunner at the moment and has been told by Paramount as such.
Chu recently spoke to MTV on his thoughts of directing a G.I. Joe sequel before this news broke. It sounds like he is an actual fan growing up with the original cartoon and believes there is still a movie to be told for “real” fans of the franchise. I believe Chu is from my generation it’s a big bonus for fans as he could take the film to places a non-fan couldn’t.
“‘Joe’ is something I’ve loved since I was a kid,” he told us. “I still think there’s a movie out there that can be done for the real ‘Joe’ fans, the one we’ve been waiting for that hasn’t been done before.”
“My era was ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ ‘G.I. Joe’ and ‘Transformers,'” he continued. “When ‘Joe’ changed their theme song from the old style—’Go Joe!’—to ‘Got to get tough, go Joe!’ That was the era I was in. Those are the fun, glory years that I remember.”
While there is a script in place by the interesting writing duo of Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (Zombieland, Deadpool, Venom) they haven’t signed anyone to reprise their roles. Paramount is first going after Channing Tatum to return as Duke but don’t expect everyone to come back. I assume actors like Sienna Miller, Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Rachel Nichols could need some convincing as they have other projects to consider.
F. Gary Gray In The Running To Direct G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra
LatinoReview has yet another interesting story this time focusing on G.I. Joe II: Revenge of Cobra. Stephen Sommers who directed the first film had previously left the franchise. It was expected as he struggled to get his vision of the film made while making Paramount nervous beyond belief. While the studio did make money from the movie they were ultimately unhappy with the final outcome. That being said Paramount has hired the screenwriting duo of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool, Venom, Zombieland) to work on the sequel’s script so they’re already moving in the right direction.
LatinoReview reveals that three directors are in the running to helm the sequel F. Gary Gray, Jaume Collet-Serra and John Chu. F. Gary Gray is the best of the bunch mentioned as he an extensive resume of action films some good and some okay. They include The Negotiator, Set It Off, The Italian Job remake and Law Abiding Citizen. Gray was also in talks to direct Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx in Kane & Lynch but seems to have moved on. Jaume Collet-Serra is rising director as he’s just been tapped to direct Harker, a new take on Dracula for Warner Bros. His previous films include House of Wax, The Orphan and the upcoming thriller Unknown. Chu on the other hand is laughable as a candidate as he’s only known for Step Up and the Justin Bieber film Never Say Never.
Stephen Sommers Not Returning For G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra
LATimes is reporting that director Stephen Sommers will not be returning to make G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra. It’s not surprising since the stress Paramount got over the expensive experiment. There had been rumors/rumblings from studio insiders the film had been flagged as a disaster during edits. The film ended up a horrible mess but still earned $300 million worldwide even though critics/fan loathed it.
With Sommers’ exit I doubt they would replace him with anyone that could do worse. Paramount has potential to make a very exciting sequel with a script written by Hollywood darlings Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland 1-2, Deadpool, Venom). I hope the studio reaches out to up and coming directors that could really develop this fun cartoony world into a solid franchise.
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