Casting is slowly starting to come together for G.I. Joe 2: Cobra Strikes and admittedly, not of it has been too exciting. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson signed on and so did RZA but I’m still on the fence with this one. The first film wasn’t great and while it managed to mostly entertain, I’m not terribly eager to see a sequel.
That being said, THR has given us an interesting piece of casting news today as they tell us that actor Ray Stevenson will play the film’s main villain, Firefly. While I’m not too familiar with the whole mythology surrounding G.I. Joe, apparently Firefly is “a saboteur, ninja master and explosives expert” and he’s a major character in the franchise.
Personally, I like Ray Stevenson a lot. I first became familiar with him in HBO’s brilliant series Rome but since then, he’s provided a worthy take on Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone and gave a strong performance in Kill The Irishman as the lead character Danny Greene.
Stevenson will make for a worthy villain and if nothing else, G.I. Joe 2: Cobra Strikes will be a harmless summer blockbuster that may provide enough fun if you’re able to leave your brain at the door.
Jon M. Chu will direct G.I. Joe 2: Cobra Strikes. Shooting starts this summer with a release date of August 10th, 2012.
