This was never going to be pretty, now it’s getting downright ugly. Spoilers to follow (sort of).
Last week came the news that G.I. Joe: Retaliation had been pushed back nine months to March 2013 in order to make way for 3D post-conversion. It was pretty clear then that there was more to this story, now we have confirmation. Word is that Paramount got skittish after poor test screenings – the gist of which being audiences disliked Channing Tatum’s Duke being killed off in the first act.
Duke, as you might remember, was the lead in G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra – a throwaway character in a throwaway (but mildly amusing) film. It’s not like audiences are clamoring for more Duke, it’s Channing Tatum they want. After back-to-back hits with The Vow and 21 Jump Street, few rising actors are having a better 2012 than the once and future Magic Mike. So rather than open their picture and hope for the best, Paramount is going to throw more money at this thing and… well, still hope for the best.
Of course, none of this bodes well for director Jon Chu – who was reportedly as surprised as we were that the film was getting delayed. Will this still be Chu’s picture come March of next year? If the test screenings went as poorly as it sounds it is hard to imagine a scenario where another director isn’t brought in to finish what was started. Like Stephen Sommers before him, it would appear Chu is being pushed out of his G.I. Joe film. And what becomes of Bruce Willis and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in all of this? Will their schedules allow the necessary time to insert Tatum back into the film, or is the plan to send Tatum off on a mission away from the other principals?
If the original cut of this film is the least bit salvageable, I would love for Paramount to release a “director’s cut” Blu-ray down the line. Good or bad, this trailer sold me on a film I’ll probably never have a chance to see. If you were one of the lucky few (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) to screen G.I. Joe: Retaliation in its original form, I would love to hear your take on all of this.
Source: Deadline
Seen the film? Contact Tim on Twitter: @roboTimKelly
17 comments
Perhaps they could just digitally insert Tatum like the robed figures in the “Eyes Wide Shut” orgy scene.
I say split the difference and have Duke’s force ghost appear and mentor Roadblock and Snake Eyes.
I wonder how long it is until some “disgruntled employee” releases a workprint of Chu’s original version that tested so poorly, to upload sites all over the internets?
And I wonder how likely it will be that the “disgruntled employee” is Chu himself
Tim Kelly, Maybe…Flint will be killed and Duke will take his lines, his screentime and his…Lady…Jaye!
Why do you even care about this film? I think there are more important films to worry about this year.
Draft up a list of the films that “worry” you and e-mail them to somebody who cares.
I’ve joked about it before, but this is like “G.I. Joe: The Movie” all over again, but with different circumstances. Legend has it that Duke, the long-time leader of the team, was supposed to die in that film as well, but the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the killing off of Optimus Prime in the previous year’s “Transformers: The Movie” led to some last-minute changes. Much like what happens in “Retaliation”, Cobra hits the Joes at home, slaughtering the whole lot of ’em. I don’t think Duke is seen again, but there IS a line thrown in about how he’s in a coma. After the “The Vow” hot big, and then “21 Jump Street” hit bigger, I goofed around on different sites that I frequent about how I wondered if there’d be some tampering, like if Duke’s condition in “Retaliation” was going to be upgraded from “murdered” to “in a coma”.
Hopefully Tatum’s stock will fall by next March.
YOWCH! I mean, you’re right, but… harsh. Better to ask why in the hell he clicked on a link for a Joe update if he has absolutely no interest. Or, you know, the slap upside the head… whichever.
I remember that! Duke dies on camera and in Scarlett’s arms after Serpentor spears him in the chest with a snake, Thulsa Doom style, and her voice actress says he’s gone into a coma right there.
In the final victory scene, while the Joes are cheering over the defeat of Golobulus, one of the voice actors announces that Duke is okay! There’s not even a character lipping the dialouge; it’s as if it’s just coming in over the radio or something.
Too bad, I was looking forward to this. But what would be REALLY awesome is an OLD SCHOOL G.I. JOE film featuring my favorite Joe of all – Bullet Man, the Human Bullet!!!
I mean no ill will. It reads harsher than intended.
And why wasn’t this solved at the scripting stage? You know what I mean? Let’s say Channing Tatum receives the script, notices he dies on page 40 or so, and tells Paramount and Hasbro to fuck off?? Why didn’t that happen? Is it too damn logical?! Because this situation just sounds horribly dumbshit. Not to mention that Bruce Willis and The Rock stomp all over Tatum’s ability as an action star. This is like the baby crying too much!
But does it read as funny as intended? Cuz it’s fuckin’ funny.
“it’s as if it’s just coming in over the radio or something.”
Awesome. That’s the audio equivalent of Poochie returning to his home planet.
What audiences don’t like is characters dying stupidly or needlessly. If Duke had died awesomely, it may have been a different story.
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