Paramount Narrows Search for G.I. Helmer

G.I. Joe producer Lorenzo diBonaventura is meeting with directors and attempting to find the right helmer for a sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the special effects heavy live action movie that earned $302 million worldwide in 2009. Since it sold distribution rights to the Avengers movie back to Disney, Paramount has a dearth of live-action tentpole movies for the summer of 2012, with only Star Trek 2 on the slate—and it’s still not clear that a final script for the Trek sequel is anywhere close to fruition.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the leading candidates to replace Stephen Sommers and direct the G.I. Joe sequel are F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen) and Jon M. Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D). Expect a decision soon, Paramount is looking to have production underway this June, which would make a late summer 2012 release possible.

The G.I. Joe franchise is, in Hollywood parlance, “extremely toyetic,” and it also tends to stimulate sales of comics and graphic novel collections as well as action figures and vehicles.

Transformers and G I Joe DVD Sets Coming

Shout! Factory will release the Transformers and GI Joe TV series from the 80s on DVD, along with the My Little Pony direct-to-video features, according to Hollywood Reporter. Shout Factory plans to release improved versions of the episodes that were previously released on DVD by Rhino, and to complete the GI Joe run, which was only partially completed by Rhino.

The first Shout Factory release will be a three disc set of The Transformers: The Complete First Season—25th Anniversary Edition, which will street June 16th (leading into the theatrical release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on the 24th). The episodes will have remastered video and a new stereo soundtrack created from the original audio. Extras will include a printable script, rare PSAs, toy commercials, concept art, a limited edition Autobot magnet, and the featurette “Triplechanger: From Toy to Comic to Screen: The Origins of the Transformers.”

Complete series sets of both Transformers and GI Joe are planned for later in the summer.