2009's
G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra was a big disappointment for all concerned. CGI heavy (it was a
Stephen Sommers movie) and deafeningly loud, not to mention dumb as a brick with campy, Z-movie performances from it's cast, few would say they enjoyed it with a straight face. At the box office, it didn't even play all that well at $150 million domestic, considering it cost a reported $175 million to produce. The worldwide $300 million take is what saved Paramount's blushes and because of the huge domestic numbers (which would be fine if the movie cost $80-100 million) they aren't ready to give up on the brand just yet. A sequel has been in development for a good few months now and in his emerging role as 'franchise rejuvenator' (anyone who caught him in
Fast Five will get what I mean)
Dwayne Johnson looks set to bring new life to
G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes. The former WWE wrestler is
in talks to play 'Roadblock', a heavy duty gunner and apparently a cousin of
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's character in the first movie and someone who isn't due to return as only
Channing Tatum (Duke),
Ray Park (Storm Shadow) and
Lee Byung-Hung (Snake Eyes) are returning, the rest not even asked back (cost cutting). Can The Rock save G.I. Joe? Probably not... but he can't make it any worse. Step Up director
John Chu is preparing his cast 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.