It hasn’t even been released for a week yet, but according to Variety the studio heads at Paramount are poised to capitalise on the box office success of G.I. Joe: Retaliation by spearheading a threequel straight into production. Amassing over $132 million in global receipts, the second film in the action heavy series was enough for the studio to green light a new G.I. Joe instalment to continue exploring the original Hasbro franchise.
Though it may seem like a knee-jerk decision initially, when you consider that G.I. Joe: Retaliation was lumbered with a nine month delay for 3D conversions and reshoots, this is most likely a plan that Paramount have brewed for quite some time. Plus, the sequel became the second highest grossing Easter release of all time in the States, so the studio has ample reason to assemble a G.I. Joe 3.
The first film didn’t do as well as Paramount expected back in 2009. G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra fumbled the toy company’s heritage and was considered a box office flop after it only recouped $300 million from a $175 million budget. Yes, unfortunately in the stringent, money-centric universe of Hollywood, profit is everything. Which is why the extended delay paid off for G.I. Joe: Retaliation – even if it really was due to the sinking of Battleship, another Hasbro property, at the box office only last year.
The latest Joe, however, charted Cobra’s infiltration of the U.S. government which pushed the central paramilitary team to the brink. Of course, this was never a plot line set to reinvent the wheel, but for Paramount it’s undoubtedly positioned the G.I. Joe franchise in the luscious green lands of potential blockbuster revenue.
The proposed threequel isn’t set in stone at this time and while G.I. Joe: Retaliation boasted a stellar action-orientated crew including Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson, there is no word yet on whether these stars will be called back for duty. You’d have to imagine that G.I. Joe 3 won’t march onto cinema screens until late 2014, and even that’s wishful thinking given Paramount’s tendency to delay properties. Until then, though, what are your thoughts on the trilogy news?
