Adrianne Palicki Cast As Lady Jaye in G.I. JOE: COBRA STRIKES, Bruce Willis Courted For Joe Colton
Failed Wonder Woman to play the coverts operations specialist, A-lister Willis wanted for role of 'the original G.I. Joe'.
Former Friday Night Lights actress and the somewhat cursed Adrianne Palicki has landed a major role in Paramount's unwanted summer 2012 blockbuster G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, joining the recently added D.J. Cortuna and RZA to the forthcoming sequel, reports Deadline (you guessed right, they have replaced movie stars with lower-end pay scale jobbers after the failure of the 2009 original based on the toy brand). Palicki is cursed because she's been on something of a dire run since leaving 'Lights' - her movie Red Dawn she shot for MGM has still not seen the light of day and is still in film purgatory, and her shows Lone Star (cancelled after two episodes) and the NBC pilot Wonder Woman (high profile non-pick up) didn't exactly go as planned. But G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes is a big movie for her, indeed she has landed what appears to be the leading female role that of Lady Jaye, a covert opts specialist who has something of a relationship going on with Cortrona's new character Flint. Or more likely re-jigged as the love interest for the two films stars Duke (Channing Tatum) or Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) as she is the female lead. Lady Jaye is the G.I. Joe Teams covert operations specialist. Her real name is Alison R. Hart-Burnett, and her rank is that of Staff Sergeant E-6. Lady Jaye was born on Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. She is a Bryn Mawr graduate, and also did graduate work in Trinity College in Dublin, before graduating from intelligence school at Fort Holabird. She is Airborne and Ranger qualified, and an expert with the M-16, M-1911A1 auto pistol, and reflex crossbow. She is also an accomplished actress and fluent in several languages. She has a knack for impersonation, right down to the subjects voice and mannerisms.The few surviving returnee's from the original besides Tatum's Duke are; Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Byung Hun Lee (Storm Shadow) and Jonathan Pryce (U.S. President), with Elodie Yung a new addition. The cast isn't quite straight-to-video level but at the same time it isn't all that far off either and it's said the studio are hoping to counteract that fact with the addition of Bruce Willis to as General Joe Colton, dubbed 'the original G.I. Joe' - but he is only one of a few actors they are chasing for the part and it doesn't sound like talks have begun just yet.
According to General Colton's 1994 file card, he graduated with the highest honors from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1960. He was recruited for Special Forces, and later became a Green Beret. In 1963, he was appointed by then President John F. Kennedy to create and command an "ULTIMATE freedom fighting force." It was at this time that he received the code name G.I. Joe.How the outed Rachel Nichols - one of the few who came out of the original with some integrity for her performance but was dumped for the sequel over costs issue must feel about money being chucked at Willis (or hell, her replacement Palicki who probably isn't on a deal much less) is anyone's guess. Step Up director John Chu is still casting for a shoot later this summer, based on a script by Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Paramount has set a release date of August 12th 2012 in place.