-
Paramount hired screenwriters for G.I. Joe 2 in January, but franchise star Channing Tatum just realized it. The actor admitted his discovery to Australia's Herald Sun.
They just found writers, I just found out.... I hope they take their time with it and really get it right because they really had to rush it last time because of the writer's strike. They really want to make it great. And I'm here for them whenever they're ready.
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writers responsible for Zombieland, have been taking their time, and revealed in February the two made a pilgrimage to Hasbro headquarters, the manufacturer who made the toys, and plan on making a "fun" sequel. In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Reese admitted that they cannot reveal any details of the movie's plot.
Unfortunately, we're not allowed to talk about what the movies about, but just know that we have a deep affection for G.I. Joe, and that we'll bring our absolute best to it and hope that that's good enough.
Posted 03.20.10 by Ryan -
Fans of G.I. Joe had to breathe a collective sigh of relief when Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to write the sequel to last summer's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The script is in the early stages of development, but in an interview with MTV, the writing duo mentioned a few of their ideas for G.I. Joe 2.
"We can say that we will be faithful to the first film," said Reese. "We will not be ignoring events from the first in the second." Wernick continued: "It will be a sequel. It will be a continuation of G.I. Joe [as it was established last summer]."
Wernick says the pair will soon head out to Hasbro headquarters — the toy manufacturer behind the real American heroes — to gather more ideas and where Reese says they will exchange sequel plans.
We're going to be open to what they have, and we're presenting them with what we have; it will be a meeting of the minds. G.I. Joe should be fun, it should be a ride. That's what we feel like Zombieland was, and we hope to bring that to the G.I. Joe franchisealso.
It's hard to think of it being any bigger; [The Rise of Cobra] was a big movie. They blew up a lot of stuff. We hope for it to be as fun, that the characters really pop. We'll be introducing some new characters.
Both of the writers agree the project is "a dream come true," though the experience is a particularly personal one for Reese.
My very first movie was a G.I. Joe movie; I used the little G.I. Joe action figures [as my actors]. I was like 9; the sad thing was that I figured I could do stop-motion with a video camera — and we know that stop motion doesn't work with a video camera for anyone who's ever tried it, especially the old video cameras — so, I realized pretty quickly that it wouldn't be a seamless motion. I'dset them up, deliver the lines.
If I could get in a time machine and go tell my 11-year-old self [that he's writing the G.I. Joe sequel] he'd be dancing, running through the street doing cartwheels…
Posted 02.18.10 by Ryan -
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was recently nominated for 6 Razzie awards, which are the flipside of the Academy Awards and celebrate the worst movies of the year. G.I. Joe was second in nominations only to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Land of the Lost, which led with 7 total nominations apiece. When New York Magazine asked G.I. Joe star Channing Tatum his feelings about the Razzie awards, Tatum's reaction was an odd sort of pride.
Whoa. Cool. Did G.I. Joe win any? Was I nominated for Worst Actor?
Tatum was not nominated, however, his co-stars, Sienna Miller and Marlon Wayans were both nominated for Supporting Actress and Actor Razzies respectively. Tatum doesn't think that Wayans will be crushed by the nomination.
Marlon's Razzie for Little Man is his most prized trophy. I kid you not. He's probably thrilled. Besides, when you do a movie like [G.I. Joe], you aren't trying to break any ground. You just want kids and grown-ups who remember the cartoon to go see it, love it, and have a good time watching shit get blown up. And we did good business anyway. There is talk of a sequel. I know they hired a writer, so I'm crossing fingers.
In fact two screenwriters have been hired — Zombieland's Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were recently tasked with writing the sequel.
Posted 02.08.10 by Ryan -
A sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is on the way and while screenwriter Stuart Beattie has some ideas for a sequel, his services won't be needed. Collider reports that Paramount has hired the Zombieland screenwriting team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to pen the sequel. The duo are pretty busy, having been recently confirmed to be writing the Deadpool spin-off as well.
The report could not confirm whether director Stephen Sommers will be brought back for G.I. Joe 2, though with new screenwriters working on the story, it's possible that a new director could be brought in too.
Posted 01.08.10 by Ryan -
While 2008 was a high-profile year for movies adapted from comic books (Iron Man, The Dark Knight), 2009 had its own army of super properties arrayed on the big screen — nine notables all tallied, including the highly anticipated Watchmen.
So, how did this year's movies stack up? We take a look back, identifying the 2009 Comic Book Movies: Winners and Losers. And here's a bonus tip for studios that just can't be repeated enough: Don't turn an anime property into a live-action movie.
Posted 11.24.09 by reelz -
Dennis Quaid has already said he'll be there for a G.I. Joe sequel, but he wants even more to do.
I want to get out of the pit.... I want to ride a horse and shoot a gun. I want a horse with an accelerator suit.
Quaid was apparently impressed with G.I. Joe, saying director Stephen Sommers hit a "home run" with the first movie. While G.I. Joe was not a huge hit domestically, its opening weekend made $100 million worldwide, opening the door to a sequel.
Posted 09.28.09 by Ryan -
Sure, it had cheesy dialogue and ridiculous-looking effects, but G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra's $100-million opening weekend was enough for Paramount to grant director Stephen Sommers and company another "Go, Joe!"
The cast is ready to return, with Dennis Quaid telling io9:
Yeah if they do one, I'm there.
And Byung-hun Lee, who played Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe, is reportedly starting work on the sequel at the end of the year according to a Korean news source.
Top star Lee Byeong-Heon is in the new Hollywood film, G.I. Joe 2!
He will be starting the filming by the end of this year and has been contracted for the 3rd sequel, also!
No official word on whether Sommers is retuning for the sequel, though he has said that he would shoot his live-action Tarzan movie next "unless the studio wants a G.I. Joe sequel."
What will go down in G.I. Joe 2? Well, screenwriter Stuart Beattie has already given some hints.
Posted 09.22.09 by Ryan -
Movies based on '80s era toys are best approached with some caution and the same can be said about videogames based on movies, but what happens when you get a videogame based on a surprisingly decent movie that was based on a toy? Confused yet? We are too. Nonetheless, it was with this question in mind that we approached the videogame tie-in for G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra seemed like it had great potential when it first booted up. We were instantly reminded of a hybrid between the original Contra games and NES classics like Ikari Warriors and Gorilla. But after only the first six levels, we felt that we'd experienced everything the game had to offer, yet still had another 14 levels to go before completion. The game's biggest flaw was that it overstayed its welcome by being way too long. After unlocking Snake Eyes in the fourth level, no new elements were introduced. Playing as Snake Eyes was definitely the highlight of the game, but two levels later and that was dull, too. Instead of ramping up at this point to the climax, G.I. Joe just lingered on ... and on. At this point the game was just a repetition of the same rinse and repeat gameplay mixed with the same insipied one-liners over and over again.
Nonetheless, there's still a lot here for fans of the series and the movie. Its collectables are pretty awesome and the only thing that kept us going through the later levels. There are tons of characters to play as, even though they all essentially play the same. There are trading cards to collect for just about everything in the game, be it weapons, characters, vehicles, etc. Best of all, there's plenty of videos to watch that range from documentaries on how the music was created to the old PSAs from the cartoon. We couldn't help but smile while watching some of the classic childhood safety messages.
There's definitely something here to be enjoyed by series fans, but we couldn't help but think about what could have been and we suspect that the fans will feel the same way. G.I. Joe would've been great as a six level-downloadable title on XBLA or PSN, but as a twenty level full release it's just too much padding.
Posted 08.28.09 by reelz -
Despite a spec script written by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra screenwriter Stuart Beattie that Steven Spielberg apparently loves, Microsoft told Kotaku that the movie is still "on hold":
We're glad there's still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie. That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.
Beattie told iF Magazine that in order for a Halo movie to be made that Microsoft needs a "a powerful filmmaker to give us those keys." Despite Spielberg's apparent interest, Microsoft say they have "nothing further to share with respect to plans regarding a Halo movie."
Looks like despite the players interested in Halo, the movie version is on pause.
Posted 08.13.09 by Ryan -
While the final box office tally for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is far from counted, its big, $100-million opening weekend ($56.2 million dollars domestic and $44 million worldwide) gives some credence to the already announced possible sequel. Screenwriter Stuart Beattie told iF Magazine what the sequel might entail.
There are so many great characters and vehicles and storylines. There are endless ways to go. There are a bunch of characters I'd like to bring in like Shipwreck, Wild Bill, Major Blood and the Dreadnoughts. I would love to get Cobra Island in there. There's a bunch of stuff I would like to do if we were lucky enough to get a chance to do it again. It's up to the people at Paramount and how well it does.
Director Stephen Sommers has said that he will make the G.I. Joe sequel next should Paramount ask for one. As long as G.I. Joe doesn't have a tremendous box-office drop in the next few weeks, Joe may well get another "Go!"
Posted 08.10.09 by Ryan