Ray Stevenson, Adrianne Palicki & Joe Mazeello Join G.I. Joe 2
Deadline reports the new addition of Joe Mazzello to G.I. Joe 2, best known for his role as Tim in Jurassic Park. Yet more recently has earned praise for his work in the HBO series The Pacific along with his supporting role in The Social Network. Other previous additions included Ray Stevenson set to play Cobra villain Firefly and Adrianne Palicki (Red Dawn) taking the role of Lady Jaye.
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.
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.
CINEMA INVASION 