Cobra Will Be The Villains In G.I. Joe Movie
Posted by John Campeaon 13. 07. 2007in News Chat
With the huge success of Transformers, it’s a foregone conclusion that G.I. Joe is indeed on it’s way! You might remember that a little while ago a “script review” for the G.I. Joe movie was reviewed over at Latino Review, in which Cobra doesn’t appear at all, and the main bad guy was some guy named “Cool Dude”. WTF!?!?
Anyway, the guys over at Latino have apparently received an email from Brian Goldner, the COO of Hasbro, exec producer of Transformers and the upcoming G.I. Joe movie in which he states:
Thanks for your note. We are working to develop a movie script that delivers a contemporary GI JOE vs. COBRA story, inspired by the comic books. We do not yet have one. Hopefully soon….
So it looks like the team of G.I. Joe will indeed be fighting Cobra… that’s good news…. I guess.
Here’s the thing. For whatever reason, I just don’t see this working at all and I don’t think G.I. Joe is a good one to make into a movie for a couple of reasons.
1) The older fans who grew up with the cartoon generally want an adult version of the story. But sorry to say it… Hasbro isn’t going to give you that. I can guarantee you this will NOT be a hard core action war movie. There won’t be any blood (which is Hasboro’s policy, and you’ll notice there wasn’t any blood in Transformers either). Robots vs. Robots is easy for that… but how the hell do you do war action with all humans and not show any blood? Remember “The A Team”?
2) Like Transformers, this movie’s purpose will be to tell toys. As such they will lean this film more towards YOUNG new fans.
There are things you can do with a fantasy property like Transformers, that I just don’t think will work with a G.I. Joe. The rules are different for the 2, and I just think whatever Hasbro puts out isn’t going to make any of the older fans happy. That’s just a guess on my part… we’ll see how it unfolds.
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i think this is possible not to show blood in a gi joe movie. they didn’t show any blood in star wars or indiana jones. if they did, it was very minimal.
Not to mention… how exactly do you handle Cobra, anyway? They’re a TERRORIST organization and that’s a touchy subject right now.
Still, better Cobra than “Cool Dude” any day.
Yo Joe!
You’re second point is a very good one John. Regarding the first, i think that as long as the movie stays true to the characters, they will allow for guns that fire lazers & Cobra soldiers ejecting from their planes. Also, maybe Transformers has softened some of the older fans to the adaptation process.
My concern is regarding the portrayal of the bad guys, specifically Cobra Commander. Even in the script that Latino Review gave positive praise to (this was about a year ago i think), Cobra Commander was re-invented to be an ex-Joe who forms Cobra after some bitter dispute or something. I don’t want to see that. If you show Cobra Commander before he dons the mask, you lose so much of what that character is. Don’t do to him what was done to Dr Doom in the F4 movies. We love CC because he’s a loony who wants to rule the world, simple as.
And don’t fuck up Destro either.
Cobra Commander should be like Blofeld, IMHO. Don’t show too much of him in the first flick or two. Let the Joes take on Destro, Zartan, the Crimson Guard, etc. and only go toe-to-toe with the Commander himself later in the series.
I think John is 100% on the money with his take. I was much more of a GI Joe fan then a Transformers fan growing up. But I just don’t see any possible way a GI Joe movie will work. The only thing I would look forward to is a live action Destro.
The only solution I see is giving this to a studio like Pixar. How amazing would it be as a CGI with Pixar at the helm? Now that is something I would be pumped about. It wouldn’t need to have blood and would appeal to both kids and adults. With that said, I don’t think Pixar would touch it. What do you think John?
The whole Scorponic scene in Transformers was bloodless– A dude took a tail through the chest without blood but the base attack and desert shootout worked like nobody’s business.
I don’t get people who complain about changes to properties like this yet they also want it to be violent and adult…which is changing the property…..if purists really want it to be like it was back in the day then they will be happy to receive a bloodless kids movie because thats what Gi Joe is
I was a GI Joe comics fan when I was young so this sounds pretty good to me. Remember there wasn’t a lot of blood in the comics either so I’m not all that worried if they “PG” it, as long as the story is decent.
The only question is what comic book storyline will they go with, ’cause if you think about it, issue #1 deals with some relevant issues: free speech as well as inciting paranoia amongst the common people. That could be pretty good if its handled well.
There is a GI Joe (or Cobra) movie that is already out in movie clubs here in Monrovia. The people in my city are going crazy for this movie. Even there is a gang for this movie with mask like Destro. I love it they gets lots of respect. Here is the trailer they have in youtube. I wonder why my country have it first. The women think it is so scary! It is called Canzo Empyrean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFtsncrDZYQ
God Bless,
Harry