This action with martial arts movies elements grosses of nearly $300 million, so it’s no surprise that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was getting a sequel. Now we know that G.I. Joe 2 will begin filming by the end of the year.
Rachel Nichols revealed that her character, Shana ‘Scarlett’ O’Hara, would not be returning for the G.I. Joe 2. And not only is Scarlett out of the picture, but Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid, Arnold Vosloo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
That means the only characters fighting the good fight will be Channing Tatum, Ray Park and Byung-hun Lee. And this is really not a very surprising move considering the first film underperfomed at the box office, causing Paramount to replace the original’s director Stephen Sommers with Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon Chu. Why? It’s also not a terribly crippling move, either, given G.I. Joe has plenty of other characters to introduce in a new film, and here they are:
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake’s Elodie Yung play a ninja named Jinx
- RZA and D.J. Cotrona are set to play Blind Master and Flint
- Dwayne Johnson will play Roadblock
- Adrianne Palicki will play Lady Jaye
- Ray Stevenson will play Firefly
- Joe Mazzello will play Mouse
Bruce Willis is in negotiations to play the original Joe, General Joe Colton. In the 1980s comic books, Colton is credited with starting the G.I. Joe strike team, called the ultimate freedom fighting force, and got the handle G.I. Joe. The elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the growing threat of the Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos.
I am one of the people who did have a blast with Sommers over-the-top brand of CGI-dripping action (even my review has been published in Australian magazine Video Ezy), but it is a little disappointing to hear the casting pool is being drained and refilled for a second go. I liked Joseph Gordon-Levitt character, but Ray Park saved his place, so spectacular fights are garanteed. Moreover we have Rock and Stevenson on board, so I am expecting a hi-octane action.
June 29, 2012 is the expected release date for G.I. Joe 2. Name of the sequel will be changed from “Cobra Strikes” to “Retaliation”.
Here is the video of Ray Park Teaching Butterfly Kick. Enjoy!
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