Put this firmly in the rumor mill category at the moment, but as we’ve been discussing throughout the day, Rich from ARealAmericanHero.com is reporting that a “very trusted source” has confided to him that a follow up for the G.I. Joe: Renegades animated series is currently in the works.
The full text of the article is below:
“Great news Renegades fans! We’ve received word from a trusted source that a follow-up to the Hub’s G.I. Joe: Renegades animated series is in the works. While we can’t confirm if the season/series is in preliminary discussions or in development, we can verify aspirations to establish the new season/series as a continuation to the first season of Renegades and the plan to continue using Clément Sauvé’s animation style. Despite some reports that Renegades underperformed, our source (who our twitter friend @twitzilleris jokingly referring to as Deep-Six Throat) says Renegades actually did quite well.
Coincidentally, we see some possible similarities with the transitions of Renegades and the second season of the A Real American Hero animated series. If you recall, the first season of A Real American Hero centered around Duke and Scarlet as the lead characters, while season two shifted focus bringing Flint and Lady Jaye to the forefront. Could this changing of the guard be reprised 30 years later? While it’s only a hypothetical scenario, it is an interesting possibility since Hasbro claims to have putRenegades on hiatus to explore ways to continue the G.I. Joe: Retaliation story through animation. We’ll have more information as it becomes available.”
As I said, this must be considered very deep in rumor territory, but I do know from various conversations I’ve had with cast members that ratings were indeed very good and the feeling among folks at The Hub was that the series was a raging success. News of its cancellation (which came to most folks before the series had even aired) was a great shock, and knowing the solid foundation they had in place, this news does not necessarily surprise me.
Normally I wouldn’t post something like this that was in such rumor territory, but I do trust Rich, and based on my own personal conversations with some folks involved in the series, it’s quite possible this is back on the table.
Granted, if the first steps are just being taken now, we likely won’t have any kind of product until 2013 at the earliest, but it’s nice to know that there might be the beginnings of something here. Let’s all cross our fingers. Thanks to Rich from ARealAmericanHero.com for relaying this intel. That is, of course, if this rumor pans out. Time will tell.
Another day, another great interview from Mike Ryan of the Huffington Post (which is then posted on Moviefone, who is owned by AOL… uhhh.. I give up).
Corporate weirdness aside, Mike Ryan has not been ashamed of his nerdy backgrounds throughout Toy Fair weekend, which is great for us, because I think he’s managed to get the best interviews of G.I. Joe: Retaliation cast and crew.
Unfortunately this interview apparently “wraps up” the Toy Fair coverage, but it’s another great one, as DJ Cotrona admits his feelings for the initial Rise of Cobra film, and name drops Larry Hama.
Adrianne Palicki is apparently more familiar with Jem and the Holograms than she is with Lady Jaye, but she’s a girl, we’ll let that slide. Meanwhile, you have to check out the latest interview right here, it’s another good one, and even without any real break through information, it immediately makes me once again feel good about the direction of this film and how the stars feel about it.
That’s been a bone of contention among fans for quite a while now…just how threatening IS Cobra Commander? If you can get past his numerous bodyguards, mercenaries, ninjas, and leather clad females, is he ripe for the taking? So far, the answer has really been “yes”. Sure, he had his trusty battle armor in 1987, but you figure anyone who needs layers of titanium and kevlar to fight back just might be a bit of a wuss.
Well, that may not be the case in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Cobra Commander just might be a mastermind, and a powerhouse. MTV spoke with Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, who referenced “Cobra” a few times during the interview. Of course, it’s uncertain whether he was talking about Cobra Commander specifically, or more likely Cobra themselves as a whole. Check out that interview here, or embedded below.
Along with The Rock, MTV also interviewed Jon Chu, who had several things to say about reinventing Cobra Commander. It sounds like the production team behind the G.I. Joe sequel certainly understands the importance of a well done Cobra Commander to the franchise and chose to essentially rebuild the character from scratch. It certainly sounds like they’ve got some interesting ideas with his voice, too.. check it out right here, or embedded below.
So I’ve been an unabashed fan of G.I. Joe: Renegades since day one, and my love affair with it continues on now. I own every episode in HD through iTunes and watch them regularly. The story, plot, and character development was awesome, and the character design, which was a sore spot early in the show’s creation, really started to come along as Season 1 drew to a close.
Since I have such a love affair for the property, my interest was obviously tweaked by a Tweet from Rich of ARealAmericanHero.com earlier today. He reported that he had some big news about a potential G.I. Joe: Renegades event, but had to clear it with some folks first.
I’ve known Rich for a while now, and I met him face-to-face finally at Toy Fair this past weekend, and knowing him like I do, when he says he has news, and he says he has a source, I believe him. So, I really think there is some validity to this rumor, or I wouldn’t be talking about it here.
Rich now has clearance to talk about it…but he wants to put us through the ringer first. 😉
Rich has put out the challenge…if his Facebook page can get 100 likes, he will reveal this mysterious G.I. Joe: Renegades related rumor. Folks, this shouldn’t be hard. His site his great, the Facebook page is great, every Joe fan should be all over it anyway, and he’s already got 92 likes for crying out loud. Let’s step up, let’s like his page (which is awesome anyway) so we can hear what’s possibly next for G.I. Joe: Renegades.
Not only that, but he’s also got some great images and coverage of his Toy Fair visit, too. So, hit Facebook, click “Like”, check out his Toy Fair pics, and hopefully in just a short while we’ll have some G.I. Joe: Renegades rumors to drool over.
This has come out online as a “new” G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer, and technically it is…but it appears to be pretty much the same as the French trailer we saw a little while ago, just without the pesky subtitles, and in a bit better quality.
Hi – Here is a quick update from http://www.bigbadtoystore.com about a variety of new arrivals and a bunch of exciting new preorders, including a variety of items featured at Toy Fair.
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NEW PREORDERS
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NEW BISHOUJO – DC, STAR WARS, MASS EFFECT
Five new Bishoujo statues have been listed for pre-order. From DC we have Evil Supergirl and Harley Quinn at $54.99 each and Power Girl at $59.99, while Star Wars brings us Jaina Solo at $54.99 and Mass Effect brings Commander Shephard at $59.99.
I gotta tell you, the highlight of my day over the past few days has been when Moviefone posts their latest interview. Mike Ryan has some nerd credibility and is asking all the right questions, though this time he puts a narrow focus on The Rock and Roadblock.
Many Joe fans have been curious as to whether or not they would pay homage to Roadblock’s rhyming talents in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation film, and I even hypothosized that perhaps the Jay-Z line was one of those homages…and it sounds like that might have been right on the money:
“Roadblock in the Larry Hama comic book is a lot different than Roadblock in the cartoon who rhymed everything. Did you ever say, “I’m not doing this if I’m rhyming the entire movie.”
[Laughs] Well, there was no conversation that he should be rhyming the entire movie. But what was important was to pay homage to the character — in terms of his look, in terms of his culinary skills…
Yes, he is a chef…
And in terms for his love and passion for poetry — but not necessarily rhyming. It’s my interpretation that he loved poetry. Look, we opened up the Super Bowl spot with him quoting Jay-Z — and that’s Roadblock’s interpretation of wonderful poetry. So there are a lot of components that we paid homage to. He was not rhyming for the entire movie. Nor does he give body massages…”
So not only does The Rock know his Roadblock history, but sounds like he’s a fan of the Fensler Films as well.
Another sticking point for the fandom post Toy Fair were the Arashikage tattoos that were visible on various toys throughout the showroom. Well, Mike Ryan read our minds and brought that up as well.
“Last thing, I noticed the Roadblock action figure has the Arashikage tattoo that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have. So Roadblock is a member now?
One of the cool things is our backstory — and we cover this in the film — that Roadblock trains with Snake Eyes and the Arashikage. So, he has that ability, which has yet to be seen — but we will see it.”
I will confirm that yes, during the Toy Fair presentation, Hasbro reps mentioned Roadblock’s training with Snake Eyes…but to become a full fledged member of the Arashikage? I don’t know about that one. We’ll see how that turns out. Once again, hit up Moviefone to read the full interview, lots of great stuff. More kudos to Mike Ryan for asking the good questions.
If you’re anything like me, you’re absolutely itching to get invested in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation universe. With so many questions left open from the Rise of Cobra, and such an excitement surrounding this new universe, I for one cannot wait to read more about it.
Well, IDW has come through, as they usually do, with a movie prequel mini-series! The first issue just hit, and you can click the Read The Rest of the Story link below for the full review.
While not approaching the level of posability of the 12″ figures that we all love so much, you can’t deny the fantastic display possibilities of these premium format figures. Cobra Commander looked absolutely amazing, and The Baroness is looking just as impressive.
We know by now that Sideshow is planning to release a 12″ Baroness in late 2012, but here’s a really nice looking premium format figure to hold you over until then. Click here to pre-order.
Keeping up the frenetic pace from yesterday, CinemaBlend has posted a pair of video interviews with G.I. Joe: Retaliation producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura and director Jon M Chu. In these interviews we learn that Storm Shadow has a much more of an excessive role in the film, and DiBonaventura emphasizes once again that Retaliation is not a reboot, but an evolution of the brand.
