Corona | Coming Attractions

When Paramount decided to abruptly reschedule the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation from June 29 this year to March 29, 2013, that came as a small shock to many industry followers. Why would the studio push back the release of a summer tentpole film nine months when less than a month was left before its original release date?

Now a reason for the radical reshifting of the release date may finally be coming to light. According to several reports, Paramount heard feedback from test screenings of Retaliation that indicated people wanted more screen time between Channing Tatum's Duke and Dwayne Johnson's Roadblock. The story goes that the version of the movie that was slated to come out in June 2012 would've only had a small amount of the two actors appearing on-screen.

Tatum's star status has increased substantially since he filmed the G.I. Joe movie. He's been seen in two movies that have grossed over $100 million dollars at the box office (The Vow and 21 Jump Street) and buzz is favorable for his performance in Magic Mike, set for release on June 29 (ironically, the first choice for G.I. Joe: Retaliation.)

While the official word for moving Retaliation was given as being to convert the film into 3D and capture more of that audience's dollar share, beefing up Tatum's screen time is now emerging as the more substantial reason.

Check out the second (and latest) trailer for Retaliation that just dropped on the Internet:

Paramount has released two new photos from G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Both showcase Lady Jaye (played by Adrienne Palicki) while the other also shows the original Joe (played by Bruce Willis, pictured inset).

A new TV spot has begun to air that shows us Roadblock's (Dwayne Johnson) philosophy about how the individual Joes come together to get a job done.

The studio has released a new still from the movie showing Bruce Willis as the original soldier, Joe Colton. Alongside Joe are Roadlock (Dwayne Johnson) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki).

The first photo of Dwayne Johnson as the new G.I. Joe Roadblock came out today from an unexpected source: his own Twitter feed. "1st day of shooting. 110 degrees. Bring It," wrote the guy known before as The Rock.

Walton Goggins is the newest addition to the growing cast of G.I. Joe 2. Variety states that he'll play a character that's new to the Joe universe called Warden Nigel James, though the trade doesn't state if he's a good or bad guy.

Goggins appeared in last summer's Predators movie and also played bad cop Shane Vendrell on The Shield. He's currently being seen in theaters in Cowboys & Aliens.

Deadline reports that Paramount is going to give the June 29, 2012 release date held by the Star Trek sequel to G.I. Joe: Retaliation, as the sequel is about to be officially named. Nothing has come from official channels yet.

Joseph Mazzello will play a new Joe codenamed Mouse. You might best remember the actor back when he was a child star in the early 1990s; he played Tim, the grandson of Jurassic Park creator in Steven Spielberg's 1993 movie.

Free from the commitments of her Wonder Woman role had it been picked up by NBC, Adrianne Palicki has landed her next job in G.I. Joe 2. She'll play one of the rare female Joes, codename Lady Jaye, and also be the female lead for the sequel.

Also mentioned is that the movie might make homage to the original 12-inch G.I. Joe that started it all, a soldier named Joe Colton. One well-known action star's name being mentioned as a candidate to play Colton is Mr. Die Hard himself, Bruce Willis.

D.J. Cotrona and RZA are rumored to be serious contenders to play new Joes in the sequel. Cotrona would play the character of Flint, a warrant officer in the action figure lineup while RZA would play The Blind Master, the martial arts master who trained Snake Eyes and Stormshadow as children.

His last film still in theaters, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon Chu is in talks with Paramount to tackle the G.I. Joe sequel next. The studio is likely considering him as their main man because JB:NSN has made $50 million dollars at the box office in two different versions, from a cost of $13 mil. A big summer tentpole like Joe 2 with its ensemble of action figure characters could benefit greatly from someone who's calling the shots and aware of how much money everything is costing the guys writing the checks.

Mentioned in the THR story is notice that not all actors from the first G.I. Joe are likely to come back. Right now it's looking decent for Channing Tatum to return and play Duke again but not-so-good for Inception's Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Sienna Miller to come back.

Confirmation that Stephen Sommers won't return to the G.I. Joe movie franchise and direct the sequel came today when The L.A. Times' 24 Frames blog heard some interesting scuttlebutt. Two reliable industry agents told the outlet that directors that they represent had been approached by Paramount to see if they were interested in directing G.I. Joe 2.

The Wrap website reports that Stephen Sommers will return to direct the G.I. Joe sequel. This news comes from an insider associated with the project.

It doesn't sound like a deal has been signed yet between Paramount and Sommers as The Wrap isn't sure if the helmer will produce the film along with the returning Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

IESB is reporting that Zombieland screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the screenplay for G.I. Joe 2. While not confirmed by Paramount Pictures or the writers' agency, the site is certain that it's a done deal.

Earlier this week the trades broke the story that the writing partners had been hired to write the script for 20th Century Fox's Deadpool superhero spinoff film.