Hey guys, anyone remember the G.I. Joe movie that came out two years ago? It had Jason Gordon-Levitt? Channing Tatum? Doctor #9 Christopher Eccleston? Still nothing? Well, it happened. And now, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon M. Chu is directing a sequel, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation. This less-than-encouraging news is assuaged slightly by the first bit of casting to come from the project: go-to punching guy Bruce Willis. Willis will play General Joe Colton, the original G.I. Joe who started the, sigh, “Ultimate Freedom Fighting Force.”
Willis was last seen in action film Red, alongside Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren. He’ll also appear in upcoming drama Fire With Fire in 2012.
The new Joe film will bring a largely new cast to the franchise, including Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, and RZA. The casting shakeup makes sense in light of Jason Gordon-Levitt’s post-Inception fame, and the fact that Bruce Willis’s salary is probably twice that of the first film’s entire cast. Original cast members Channing Tatum and Ray Park will reappear, however.
Chu begins production on G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation later this month. While the director has mostly worked on dance films, like Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D, his experiences filming the Justin Bieber documentary Never Say Never provide him with unique perspective on how to film Cobra’s army of mindless, brutal hordes.
Expect G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation to hit theaters June 29, 2012. Because knowing is half the battle.
Source: Deadline
