10 Iconic Characters Movies Keep Screwing Up

By the 1980s, the G.I. Joe toyline was as popular as He-Man or Transformers. It was so lucrative, Hasbro expanded the toys into a multimedia franchise. Before you knew it, G.I. Joe had his own comics, Saturday morning cartoon, and spin-offs. For many children, this action figure was the defining toy of the decade.

At least... in America. Although millions of kids were brought up with Duke, Roadblock, Heavy Duty, and Firefly, the rest of the world barely heard of them. Because the brand heavily focused on American soldiers, Joe never had much appeal outside the United States.

This posed a massive problem when Hollywood released the 2009 film adaptation, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Even though the film earned $150 million in the US, it made the exact same amount in every other country combined. The sequel, Retaliation, tried to salvage the potential money-maker by stuffing in more profitable actors like Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis. But due to poor box office returns and worse reviews, the film franchise seemed dead.

In 2021, Hollywood tried adapting G.I. Joe again, this time by telling an origin story of the series' most popular character, Snake Eyes. Unfortunately, this generic snoozefest bombed at the box office, earning a pitiful $40 million. At this moment, there's no discussion to release another instalment based on Hasbro's famous toy line. Based on how badly every film adaption has turned out, this should be a surprise to no one.