Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation

8/10/11 - Bruce Willis in talks to join the cast of Paramount’s G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, with the veteran action actor marked to play the original Joe, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Willis would play General Joe Colton, the man who in 1980s comic books starts the G.I. Joe strike team, called the ultimate freedom fighting force, and got the handle G.I. Joe.  Jon M. Chu is directing the Lorenzo di Bonaventura-produced action movie, which is bringing a mostly new cast to the franchise. Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson and RZA are among the recruits for the second film.  The movie begins shooting later this month in New Orleans. Paramount has staked out a June 29, 2012 release date.

7/27/11 - Paramount is moving the G.I Joe sequel to June 29, 2012.  That means director Jon M. Chu and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura will have to crunch post-production. The Joe sequel was originally scheduled for August 10, 2012, essentially the same weekend that the first film opened in 2009. It ultimately grossed just $301 million worldwide.

7/1/11 - Adrianne Palicki will play Lady Jaye, the female lead in Paramount Pictures' GI Joe: Cobra Strikes, according to TheWrap.  Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson also star in the film, which is being directed by Jon Chu. Ray Park and Byung-hun Lee are expected back from the first G.I. Joe as Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.  The sequel is set for an August 10, 2012 release.

6/10/11 - Elodie Yung is in talks to join Dwayne Johnson and Channing Tatum in Paramount's new G.I. Joe movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Yung will play a ninja member of the Joe squad named Jinx.  John Chu is directing the movie while Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing the action movie, which is rebuilding mode. A host of characters not seen in the first movie are being introduced, with martial arists Jinx being one.

6/6/11 - Dwayne Johnson is in talks to join Paramount’s sequel to G.I. Joe, being directed by John Chu, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The studio and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura are rebuilding the franchise title and are bringing in a viper’s nest of new characters, which means that many of the players from the first one won’t be back.  Channing Tatum, who played Duke in the first movie, is one that is expected to return.  Johnson has the offer for the role of machine gunner Roadblock, described as “a big guy with a big gun.”

1/17/11 - Lee Byung-hun will star in G.I. Joe 2, reprising his role as Storm Shadow in a sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The writing team from Zombieland is currently working on the script for GI Joe 2. Lee will head to the U.S. to begin shooting in June, with the film slated to open in the summer of 2012.

9/22/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that Dennis Quaid, who played Gen. Hawk in this summer's hit G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, is ready for the sequel. "I'm definitely on board if they do another one," Quaid said. "I don't know if they have a script yet, but I'm definitely interested."  About the film’s success, "G.I. Joe was exactly what it was meant to be," Quaid said. "Stephen Sommers really knows what he's doing, and he really hit a home run with that."  It's unclear whether Quaid has already signed on for a sequel.  The veteran actor does have one special request for Gen. Hawk in G.I. Joe 2. "I want to get out of the pit," says Quaid. "I want to ride a horse and shoot a gun. I want a horse with an accelerator suit."

8/11/09 - Paramount Studios' vice chairman Rob Moore has told the LA Times that a sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is about to go into development.  The cast have all inked deals that require them to appear in the next film, though director Stephen Sommers, who previously was able to launch The Mummy as a franchise, has no such provision in his contract.  No word yet on what the premise of the sequel will be. But as the first movie deals with the rise of Cobra, the organization that stood in opposition to the Joes in both the wildly popular animated show of the 1980s and the related comic book series, there are plenty of possibilities.

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