On the surface this sounds like a very cool, very fun idea. Underneath the surface, I can’t help but wonder exactly how this is going to work.
The Hollywood Reporter posted an article today revealing a Hasbro and Paramount joint venture to unify the universes of G.I. Joe, MASK, Visionaries, Micronauts, and ROM into one connective cinematic universe.
My first reaction, of course, is JOY. I absolutely love Joe, MASK, and Visionaries, and the mere fact that discussion of these three properties is occurring fills me with immense pleasure.
Of course my next reaction is how the heck is Hasbro going to tell a story featuring a modern military team and Knights of the Magical light and have it make any modicum of sense? Add that to Rom the Space Knight and the Micronauts, and even more confusion comes into play.
It’s funny, I could definitely see MASK and G.I. Joe co-existing on screen in a great way. I could see Visionaries, Rom, and Micronauts even existing in some strange pseudo magic-science cosmic universe. But somehow joining all five together? Very weird, although certainly not without precedence. One might point to Marvel’s success with Guardians of the Galaxy to point out how well a company can synergize more “real world” events with a more cosmic story arc, but Marvel spent half a decade building their universe around their characters. Will Hasbro and Paramount’s vision work the same way?
I guess it will be interesting to find out.
Meanwhile, I’m just ecstatic that there are two more Hasbro properties I’m enthusiastic about potentially getting a stronger focus in the coming years.
Check out the Hollywood Reporter’s article for more details.
(Visionaries image courtesy of the immensely talented stratosmacca on DeviantArt)
I don’t think it’s an impossible task, just a little gonzo. It would require a shift in tone again for GI JOE, but I think that’s inevitable given the trajectory of the franchise, especially after Jem bombed. They could have the same actor portray the same U.S. President in all five movies and have Hawk or Scarlett at Cabinet meetings. Miles Mayhem could be seen reverse engineering a HISS or making an arms deal with James McCullen in MASK. Dr. Mindbender or Crystal Ball could be depicted as having a Darkling Lord’s staff in their possession or could mention Baron Karza’s work in molecular physics while constructing a doomsday machine. When the army shows up early on to deal with a Dire Wraith invasion in Rom, they could show special forces troops arriving in Howlers. When establishing the Visionaries world, they could imply that Prysmos is an alternate Earth after a cataclysmic disaster involving the MASS device. These are all cheesy ideas, I know.
Admittedly, it’s a bit of a wild stretch but if it means possibly getting new M.A.S.K. and Visionaries toys made by Hasbro then I’m all for it. ^_^
What, no love for the INHUMANOIDS ?
As much as I love inhumanoids, I cannot imagine Hasbro ever revisiting the property without having to gut it of everything that made it awesome.
Nothing will ever come of this.
Bruce Campbell as Hector Ramierez.