Ray Park Confirms Returning As Snake Eyes In G.I. Joe 2

Ray Park (X-Men) has confirmed via Twitter that he is returning for G.I. Joe 2. Reprising the role of silent Joe Snake Eyes. It had been mentioned by actress Rachel Nichols that Duke, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes would be the only returning characters. I find it doubtful that they would exclude Cobra Commander and Baroness as they are the most popular of the Cobra members. Park is the first confirmed returning cast member. I'd hope that Paramount would consider recasting Duke and Baroness and making this more of a reboot/reworking than a sequel. The film has a script written by Rhett Reese and Wernick (Zombieland, Deadpool) which is expected to be giant step up from the first film.

G.I. Joe 2 Gets August 2012 Release Date

It looks like Paramount is revving up movement on G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra. As it's release date has been officially set for August 10th 2012. It's likely that date will be changed as The Bourne Legacy and the Total Recall reboot are also being released on the same day. This gives the impression that Paramount is going to start production in the next couple of months and expect re-casting announcements soon.

Rachel Nichols Says Duke, Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow Are The Only Ones Returning For G.I. Joe 2

Actress Rachel Nichols who starred in Rise of Cobra tweeted that the only returning cast members would be Channing Tatum, Ray Park and Byung-Hun Lee. While this doesn't seem too shocking it does speak volumes on the direction Paramount and new director Jon M. Chu will be going with the sequel. 

I wouldn't be shocked if they go for a bit of a reboot with the sequel. The first film while fun did a lot of damage to the canon of the franchise. Mainly ruining the look and characteristics of the Baroness and Cobra Commander essentially the best villains of the series likely contributed by recently ousted director Stephen Sommers.


I'm still on the fence about Tatum as an actor as he hasn't given a lot of standout performances but playing a role like Duke doesn't need a awards caliber actor. Ray Park was solid as rock in the first film except his costume's mask looked more like a bondage outfit. Hopefully they fix all the awful costume issues in the new film. Lee also was excellent in the film and will be gathering a lot of film geek praise for his role in the Korean thriller I Saw The Devil. 


It's not surprised they aren't asking Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller and Christopher Eccleston as they phoned in their performances. Talented actors like Joesph Gordon and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje could have gone onto greener pastures as they have since been involved in some high profile projects making them more expensive. I'd like to see them bring in some new talent but keep the Cobra characters in place and even expanding on them.

Jon M. Chu Chosen To Direct G.I. Joe 2

Deadline reports that Paramount Pictures has decided on a director for G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra. It's Jon M. Chu who is best known for the Step Up series and the Justin Bieber documentary Never Say Never. It's an odd choice but seems like the studio wants to keep the project in check. Hiring a lesser known name could allow them to have more control over the production and not let it slip into the bizarre zone like Sommer's film did. I don't think this is a terrible choice but it will be met with some skepticism until we get a trailer. He hasn't finalized a deal with the studio but is the frontrunner at the moment and has been told by Paramount as such.

Chu recently spoke to MTV on his thoughts of directing a G.I. Joe sequel before this news broke. It sounds like he is an actual fan growing up with the original cartoon and believes there is still a movie to be told for "real" fans of the franchise. I believe Chu is from my generation it's a big bonus for fans as he could take the film to places a non-fan couldn't.


"'Joe' is something I've loved since I was a kid," he told us. "I still think there's a movie out there that can be done for the real 'Joe' fans, the one we've been waiting for that hasn't been done before."


"My era was 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' 'G.I. Joe' and 'Transformers,'" he continued. "When 'Joe' changed their theme song from the old style—'Go Joe!'—to 'Got to get tough, go Joe!' That was the era I was in. Those are the fun, glory years that I remember."

While there is a script in place by the interesting writing duo of Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (Zombieland, Deadpool, Venom) they haven't signed anyone to reprise their roles. Paramount is first going after Channing Tatum to return as Duke but don't expect everyone to come back. I assume actors like Sienna Miller, Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Rachel Nichols could need some convincing as they have other projects to consider.

F. Gary Gray In The Running To Direct G.I. Joe: Revenge of Cobra

LatinoReview has yet another interesting story this time focusing on G.I. Joe II: Revenge of Cobra. Stephen Sommers who directed the first film had previously left the franchise. It was expected as he struggled to get his vision of the film made while making Paramount nervous beyond belief. While the studio did make money from the movie they were ultimately unhappy with the final outcome. That being said Paramount has hired the screenwriting duo of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool, Venom, Zombieland) to work on the sequel's script so they're already moving in the right direction.

LatinoReview reveals that three directors are in the running to helm the sequel F. Gary Gray, Jaume Collet-Serra and John Chu. F. Gary Gray is the best of the bunch mentioned as he an extensive resume of action films some good and some okay. They include The Negotiator, Set It Off, The Italian Job remake and Law Abiding Citizen. Gray was also in talks to direct Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx in Kane & Lynch but seems to have moved on. Jaume Collet-Serra is rising director as he's just been tapped to direct Harker, a new take on Dracula for Warner Bros. His previous films include House of Wax, The Orphan and the upcoming thriller Unknown. Chu on the other hand is laughable as a candidate as he's only known for Step Up and the Justin Bieber film Never Say Never.