Last week, we brought you news that action star Bruce Willis was in the process of signing on to play the original Joe, General Joe Colton, in Paramount’s G.I. Joe sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Steady casting news has been flowing from the G.I. Joe camp of director Jon M. Chu and Zombieland writing team, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick but what about the storyline for this sequel?
While a plot summary is not yet available for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, according to leaked intel via io9, “the sequel is going to be pretty strongly connected with the original film” and speculatively “more down to earth” than the first movie. We can also infer some facts from the casting calls for characters new to the G.I. Joe line-up:
- Walker – a wisecracking character
- Brock – a tough guy from the hood
- Robyn – a female weapons expert
- Mouse – an 18-year-old newbie who’s eager to prove himself. To be played by Joe Mazzello.
- Lecter – a villain “who’s a creator of high-tech weapons” and “helps Zartan with his bid for power.”
From the list of characters above, it sounds like the right ingredients for a dynamic interplay of personalities on-screen, if not stereotypical flavors of an ensemble cast for action movie. (Here’s hoping that the dialogue doesn’t cause reflexive eye-rolling!)
There is also a generous number of “world leaders and foreign technical experts” to be cast, which may indicate a geopolitical context to this sequel, especially considering how the first film concluded with the master of disguise, Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), impersonating the U.S. President.
So, it seems like the Zombieland writers could take this sequel to an interesting place, especially with high-caliber action stars Bruce Willis and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the mix, but it will come down to how they use these casting weapons that will make or break G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Keep it here on SciFi Mafia for the latest news on G.I. Joe 2. In the meantime, check out this pic of Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock and one from G.I. Joe tactical training that he posted on his Twitter feed.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Ray Stevenson, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palacki, RZA, D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Young, Joe Mazzello, and Ray Park. The film begins shooting this month in New Orleans.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation is slated to hit theaters on June 29, 2012.
