by generalsjoes | Sep 13, 2016 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe 3, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Hasbro Cinematic Universe
With Byung Hun Lee out doing the interview circuit for his new film The Magnificent Seven, it’s natural that some questions would come up regarding his role in the G.I. Joe movie franchise. Speaking with LRM, the Korean actor said that:
“…that there’s a possibility to do the third one, but I think they’re waiting for the actors’ schedules. They’re arranging the schedules for the actors, especially Dwayne Johnson.”
While it is nice to hear some talk of the next installment in the G.I. Joe film franchise, I don’t think it surprises anyone that they’re building the next installment around Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Already one of the most popular actors on the planet when he filmed G.I. Joe: Retaliation, somehow the onetime wrestler has skyrocketed even further, recently pulling down the honor of the highest paid actor in Hollywood. If G.I. Joe has the inside track to leverage Johnson’s billing for a third film, they would be painfully stupid not to do so.
At this point that means a bit of a waiting game. When you’re one of the most popular action heroes of the current moment, a wait list generally forms, and Johnson right now has a hell of a long one.
Now the real question is, how does this play into the whole Hasbro Cinematic Universe discussion? We’ve heard rumor upon rumor that Hasbro is trying to develop something for 2018, would that something include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? That would feel like a logical step to take, but at this point it remains to be seen whether that would be considered “G.I. Joe 3” or something else entirely.
For many, many years a G.I. Joe film franchise was considered to be in development hell, and there was much rejoicing when it finally got the green light for 2009. Two moderately successful films later, it almost feels like we’re back in that in-between area. Hopefully news comes out in the next 12 – 18 months that changes this perception.
Stay tuned!
by generalsjoes | Oct 21, 2015 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys, Kindle Worlds, Podcasts, Roll Out Roll Call
When good friend Chris asked if I wanted to go on the Full Force podcast to discuss my latest non-G.I. Joe novel, The Fog of Dreams, I was pretty ecstatic. For all of the work I put into developing the book, I’ve found precious few chances to talk about it, and it was an absolute blast.
I talked about the writing process, character building, and of course couldn’t help but dip into the G.I. Joe universe and also speak about my Kindle Worlds projects. Thankfully, this episode of The Full Force actually has some credible people on as well, as they speak with Paddy Lennon and Brian Hickey of Total Retaliation fame, as well as caster/customizer extraordinaire RagingSpoon and Nichole.
It’s an action packed episode, so join Chris, Dave Tree, and Eddie Inman for a fantastic packed episode. Then after you listen, please consider hopping over to Amazon.com and picking up The Fog of Dreams so you can see what the talk is all about. It’s only $2.99 for Amazon Kindle and has a lot of appeal for G.I. Joe fans.
Take it away Full Force!
by generalsjoes | Oct 1, 2014 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
In many ways the G.I. Joe: Retaliation action figure line is a testament to the timeless greatness of the G.I. Joe brand at large. I know in many areas of the fandom the hate flows freely in regards to the G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys, but truth be told, I think we all have a lot to be thankful for, especially when looking around the toy aisles and seeing what other film properties were dealing with in their licensed action figures.
Yes, the vehicle drivers got cost cut to five points of articulation, but by and large, from start to finish, the G.I. Joe: Retaliation line provided a wealth of terrific figures from all different era’s of G.I. Joe’s 30 year history and we should all be thankful.
There are two fans who are especially thankful. So thankful in fact, that they went through some great trouble to assemble a book focusing on the greatness of G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Check out the full review after the jump!
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by generalsjoes | Aug 11, 2014 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
In a strange marketing move by Hasbro, they have allowed a Korean video game producer “Neople” to license their Storm Shadow character for use in an online game called Cyphers. One look at the video announcement shows that it’s Storm Shadow from the film universe, which makes sense considering what a superstar Lee Byung-Hun is in his native country. That’s obviously what drove the licensing arrangement to begin with, though it does seem strange to see that single character allowed for use.
From what I can tell, Cyphers does not have an English translated version, so this will be fun mostly for Korean game players, but I thought it was a pretty interesting news tidbit regardless.
Check out the promo video below, and you can check out the website for the video game right here.
by generalsjoes | Jun 21, 2014 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
When it was first leaked that Duke might pay the ultimate price in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, there was much speculation that this was on the request of Channing Tatum himself. His star had risen dramatically since he appeared in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and the prevailing thought was that he didn’t want to be tied down to the second film. However, throughout all the interviews leading up to the film’s debut, he seemed to debunk that thought and said that Duke’s death just made sense within the context of the story.
Many had their doubts.
Turns out those doubts were spot on, as Channing Tatum spoke with Entertainment Weekly to promote 22 Jump Street and confirmed his own distaste for doing sequels in general:
This movie comes pretty quick on the heels of the first one. Do you both avoid sequels?
Tatum:
I try not to do them. I did not want to be in the sequel for
G.I. Joe.
You die almost immediately in it.
Hill: He’s like, “just kill me in the first five minutes”.
Tatum: “Go on without me, I’m good.”
While I have my own internal commentary for an actor that would determine the fate of a childhood cartoon hero to many merely because he doesn’t want to play the role, I think Paramount could have worked around the issue themselves with some creative re-casting.
All that being said, it is interesting to see the truth finally revealed. That would confirm that a Duke resurrection for G.I. Joe 3 (at least with Tatum in the role) isn’t happening. Thanks to Andrew Hall of the G.I. Joe Discussion Group on Facebook for the heads up.
by generalsjoes | Jun 13, 2014 | Acid Rain, Boss Fight Studio, Film, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Kindle Worlds, Other Toys, Podcasts, Sunbow, Transformers, What's on Joe Mind
We are painfully aware that we’re not recording quite as often as we did in the past, but we’re trying to make every one of them count!
For Episode 94 we excitedly welcomed back two long time friends of What’s on Joe Mind, Bill Ratner (the voice of Flint) and Arune Singh (Executive Director of Television Communications, Marvel Entertainment) to have some very different discussions.
Mr. Ratner provides awesome detail about G.I. Joe history, while also breaking down his exciting new endeavor at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Meanwhile, Arune celebrates Transformers return to movie screens this summer (and the debut of the IDW comic book) with a spirited discussion about how a G.I. Joe/Transformers team up could work.
As always, check out the latest episode on Podbean, or through the embedded player below. Show notes after the jump!
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