Yesterday nerdy writer for the Huffington Post Mike Ryan posted a sufficiently nerdy interview with Jon Chu, revealing some never before revealed details behind the bad guys in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. On Twitter yesterday, he promised me that he would follow up with producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, and he has delivered!
“I know Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not in this movie. But is the Cobra Commander in this movie the same character we saw in the first movie?
No.
So it’s a different guy? Different guy.
So someone else took over? Someone else took over, yes.”
Certainly a clear indication that somebody else is now wearing the Commander’s trademark mirrored mask. Of course, being the bonafide G.I. Joe fan that he is, Ryan also tried to get more details on the whole Destro situation.
“For the new film, was there any thought of bringing back Destro. He’s a popular character. Even if Christopher Eccleston didn’t want to come back, it wouldn’t matter now that he has the mask, right?
Umm [smiles]…
You’re smiling. There’s something going on. Yeah, there is. But, Destro, you’ll see Destro again. You’ll see Destro again. For sure. If not in this one, perhaps in another one. You’ll see.”
So perhaps we won’t see him in Retaliation, but it’s obvious that there are some clear plans in place for Destro within the franchise. That’s good news. There are plenty of other great questions and insight throughout this follow up interview, so definitely hit up Moviefone to check out the full interview. It really is great.
I’ve gotta thank Mr. Ryan for getting to the bottom of some of this stuff. After seeing press butcher actor names and actually call the film “G.I. Joe: Retribution” today, this was a refreshingly accurate and educated interview. Check it out!
Well, we’re in the thick of it this week. With media and stars descending on New York City over the past few days, plenty of sites have started posting their interviews with the cast and crew who were on hand. I already posted up the information from ComingSoon and SuperHeroHype, and now UGO.com is getting in on the action, but they’re doing the old school “text” route.
They spent some time talking to everyone from Jon Chu to Lorenzo DiBonaventura, as well as The Rock, DJ Cotrona, and Adrianne Palicki, and they’ve posted the entire run of interviews right here. Yes, by and large it’s a lot of lip service, but I’m getting into the G.I. Joe: Retaliation spirit.
Along with the interviews I just posted, the cast members from G.I. Joe: Retaliation also posed and had some pictures taken of them and their action figure representations. Hasbro has provided those images and you can see them mirrored below.
While many of us low level fan sites were ushered out of the city after the exciting event on Saturday, the “big boys” are still lurking around talking to cast members from G.I. Joe: Retaliation. ComingSoon.net was among those sites, and they’ve posted a few video interviews on SuperHeroHype.com! Check out the interviews below and some interesting snippets from each.
Thanks much to Ghost Man for the heads up.
Also try to ignore the ComingSoon dude who calls the film G.I. Joe: Retribution. Good thing they let those guys get the good interviews and not us folks who don’t know what we’re doing, huh?
Tomorrow is the day we finally get our feet wet in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation universe. Hopefully this prequel series is just the beginning of many more offshoot stories that lead up to the film!
no images were found
G.I. Joe 2: Movie Prequel #1
John Barber (w) • Salvador Navarro (a & c)
Snake Eyes and Roadblock. Perhaps the most dangerous of all the Joes–their combination of stealth, cunning, power and raw courage is nearly unmatched. But what unspoken bond do they share? Find out their never-before-revealed secrets in this prequel to the summers most anticipated action movie!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
*Variant covers:
Variant black & white Salvador Navarro cover!
Bullet points
Leading directly into the hottest movie of the summer, G.I. JOE 2!
Now that Toy Fair has come and gone, its safe to say this is going to be a
great year to be a toy collector.
We have spoken with our distributor, and they have informed us that G.I.
Joe Retaliation items will be up for pre-order within days. No price point
has been verified as of yet, but expect the same competitive prices we
always have to offer.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook so you don’t miss the
announcement.
Currently in-stock is a great selection of vintage GI Joe vehicles. Choose
from favorites like the Skystriker, Condor, Thunderclap, and more. Follow
the link below to jump to our GI Joe vehicle section. http://nerdragetoys.com/?page_id=184&shopp_category=11
If you’re a He-Man fan, Nerd Rage toys has some great items for you to
choose from. We have a large inventory of figures and vehicles, both loose
and in the original packaging. Follow the link below to jump to our
vintage He-Man section. http://nerdragetoys.com/?page_id=184&shopp_category=22
In the market for vintage Star Wars? We have a huge selection of vintage
figures and vehicles to choose from. Currently in stock is over 130
figures, from common to rare. 1979 Boba Fett with original card-back,
Amanaman, and the Millennium Falcon are just a few of the great items we
have to offer. Follow the link below to jump to our vintage Star Wars
section. http://nerdragetoys.com/?page_id=184&shopp_category=54
Be sure to check the rest of the great lines we have to offer, including
Ghostbusters, Thundercats, Sectuars, and more.
I haven’t tossed a metric ton of Toy Fair images up yet, but I filled out the action figure waves with correct information and new photos based on what I got during Toy Fair. I hope to supplement the vehicle and 3 Pack sections at some point, too, but that’s for a later time.
With the 2012 Toy Fair wrapping up today for Hasbro, many big name media outlets and Hollywood folks were walking through the Hasbro showroom. You had to know that some interviews would take place, and Mike Ryan from Huffington Post got a big one!
He took a few minutes to talk with G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu, who dropped some serious plot nuggets that are sure to open some eyes. I won’t regurgitate the entire interview here, but I do want to touch on a few things:
“Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not in this movie. Under the mask, is this the same character that Levitt played?
No. [Smiling] But we figured out a way that’s pretty nice. And you get the Cobra Commander that you’ve always wanted. Or, to me, what I always wanted: a bad-ass villain. He’s one of the most iconic villains ever. I’m even following him on Twitter — he’s so funny.”
Woah. You read it there, folks. The Cobra Commander we see in G.I. Joe: Retaliation is not the same guy from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. So the scene where we think Storm Shadow is “rescuing” him… maybe that’s not what’s happening there. Very interesting.
The next bit of knowledge brought a big smile to my face as well:
“And we may see Destro?
[Smiling] You may see a little glimpse of Destro. We’ll have to see. Speaking of the comic book, I love “Silent Interlude.” It’s one of my favorite. Obviously that changed everything for Joe. We do a little homage in our movie to “Silent Interlude.” I’m very excited for the fans to see what we do with that.”
So, a little glimpse of Destro and an homage to Silent Interlude. Hmmm…
Any way, the interview is a fantastic read. Everyone needs to check it out. Lots of great illumination about the mindset behind the G.I. Joe: Retaliation film, a much larger focus on gritty action and bullets over lasers, and a story that Mr. Chu says is much more “comic” themed than the Rise of Cobra. Check it out right here.
Remember that awesome Footlocker set for the entire run of Sunbow G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero episodes? Well, starting May 1st, Shout Factory is dropping the foot locker design and re-releasing the full series set!
Check out Amazon.com to pre-order the 16 disc DVD set and watch all the Sunbow animated series you want.
Here on the site and on the What’s on Joe Mind podcast, I’ve been talking up G.I. Joe: Operation Red Retrieval, which was an awesome fan film by the talented Mark Cheng. Well, now there’s another great looking film on the horizon, entitled G.I. Joe: Initiate.
A very ambitious undertaking by a crew of military veterans and folks well versed in the motion picture process, this looks like a very cool, very military themed operation that has some real potential. Real military hardware including armored personal carriers and tanks(!!) are at their disposal, and from what we’ve seen so far, this project has some great potential!
You can keep up to date on this new fan film on their Facebook Page.
Most importantly, though, the film needs our help. They’ve launched a Kickstarter page with which Joe fans can donate money to help ease some production costs of the film. Help feed the crew and assist with minor incidentals. In the grand scheme of things, it appears to be a small price to pay for what looks like a very fun, military, and action oriented fan film.
Once again, keep watching Facebook for updates, and if you can help them out on Kickstarter hit it up! The sooner they reach the goal, the sooner we get a great fan film, and if they overshoot their goal, all extra proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior project. Can it get any better? I’ve mirrored some cool character images below, just to give an idea what they’re going for. Good stuff.
