Aug 23, 2007 by B. Alan Orange

Stephen Sommers Will Direct G.I. Joe

After much speculation and rumor, it is now official. According to Variety, Stephen Sommers is indeed directing a big screen adaptation of the G.I. Joe cartoon show from the 80s, which was based on a set of Hasbro action figures.

Sommers pitched his take on the franchise Wednesday night. He was hired on the spot. Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing with Hasbro chief operating officer Brian Goldner. Sommers and his Sommers Co. partner Bob Ducsay are also onboard as producers. Goldner stated, "Marrying Steve's vision with 25 years of this brand mythology feels like a great way to go forward."

Said to be closer in tone to James Bond than a war movie, Sommers stated, "Our vision for The Mummy was clear the time the first trailer played during the Super Bowl, and by the time this one plays a Super Bowl, you'll see the coolest characters and visuals you can imagine, and beyond-state-of-the-art equipment. I wouldn't have jumped into this just because of the Hasbro-Transformers tie. Remember, Pirates of the Caribbean was a big hit, but 'The Haunted Mansion not so much."

A writer is being hired immediately. The film is set to go into production in February for a Summer 09 release date.

Dont't forget to also check out: Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution was released September 28th, 2007 and stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang, Chung Hua Tou, Chih-ying Chu, Ying-hsien Kao, Ko Yu-Luen. The film is directed by Ang Lee.


Sources: Variety

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Comments (10)

  1. SWAK1774

    Channing Tatum has landed the key role of Duke, the field commander of the G.I. Joe team, while Dennis Quaid and Arnold Vosloo have also joined director Stephen Sommer's cast. Tatum, who also recently landed the role of Pretty Boy Floyd in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, will portray Duke Hauser, the lead soldier on the Joe Team, while Quaid will play General Hawk, the grizzled team leader and Arnold Vosloo has been cast as the villainous Zartan.

    4 years agoby @swak1774Flag

  2. SWAK1774

    So far they have casted:
    1)Marlon Wayans will play Ripcord
    2)Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, Bourne Identity) will play Heavy Duty
    3)Said Taghmaoui (Kite Runner) is cast as Breaker
    4)Rachel Nichols will play Scarlett
    5)Sienna Miller as the Baroness
    6)Ray Park as Snake Eyes
    7)Korean-born Japanese TV star Byun-hung Lee will portray the Cobra Commander's ninja bodyguard Storm Shadow

    The movie's script, which was written by Stuart Beattie, internationalizes the famous combat team by having them operate out of Brussels with the acronym "G.I. JOE" now standing for "Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity."

    4 years agoby @swak1774Flag

  3. vision1383

    lol yeah but I think Destro should be someone with a more deeper voice/Scottish accent. maybe Butler can provide that tho. who knows? it was just a thought. yeah but they could even have John Cena as Duke. lol dont sleep bc i think he'd look just like Duke with blonde hair. however this movie has got to rely heavily on character casting bc thats what made G.I. Joe was the characters and Sommers has to have the right cast to bring those characters to life. They need 2 great martial artists for Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. But I'm sticking with my pick of Gerard Butler as Serpentor. I can't really think of anybody who can play that Emperor role as he could. he made me a beleiver in 300. plus he's jacked as sh*t and we all know Serpentor was made from the greatest rulers in history so they got to make him fierce.

    5 years agoby @vision1383Flag

  4. ImmortalFury

    lol vision1383, that is a great idea and it would kick ass to see him do that but i think hed be better as joe say maybe hawk or falcon or flint. or they could make him destro lol

    5 years agoby @immortalfuryFlag

  5. vision1383

    G.I. Joe is gonna rock. I loved the cartoon as a kid and I always thought it was better than Transformers just because it was a bit more realistic. I'm hoping Sommers gets into the origin of the characters and knows that the G.I. Joe mythology and storyline can't be told in 1 movie and that there will have to be sequels to it. In my opinion I think Gerard Butler(King leonidas) of 300 would be a great Serpentor. just without the beard. i can just picture him screaming COBRA LA LA LA LA LA like he did in 300 as he shouted Sparta. I also think Matt Damon would make a great Duke instead of Mark Wohlberg. but i think Mark wohlberg would be a great Lt. Falcon

    5 years agoby @vision1383Flag

  6. SWAK1774

    I read on another website that they feel Hayden Christiansen would make a good Cobra Commander because he's good at doing whiney & over-dramatic characters.

    5 years agoby @swak1774Flag

  7. Gooberheadgirl

    Sounds cool... I agree with ImmortalFurV, Barry Pepper would be great as Duke.

    5 years agoby @gooberheadgirlFlag

  8. ImmortalFury

    this sounds pretty cool. i hope they cast some awesome actors for the joes and cobra. i think Barry peper would be awesome as Duke. idk who else they can get but it depends on who they have in the story. I hope Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are in it that'll just make the f*ckin movie. But in all this movie is going to kick ass YO JOE!!

    5 years agoby @immortalfuryFlag

  9. red81slayer

    Like "Transformers"???? did you even see the original? The movie was nothing like it... In the tv show the Transformers were actual characters, the movie forgot that. Lets hope they won't forget about GI Joe.

    5 years agoby @red81slayerFlag

  10. brew1701

    sounds like a plan, hopefully they can keep everything pretty close to orignial like transformers,

    5 years agoby @brew1701Flag

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