The “Transformers” franchise has been a big success for Paramount Pictures, but the same can’t reasonably be said for their other action film franchise based on a Hasbro toy line – “G.I. Joe”.
All three films in the series – 2009’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” 2011’s “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and 2021’s “Snake Eyes” – were critical bombs, with ‘Retaliation’ being the only one to pull in decent box-office.
Speaking with Collider ahead of the release of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that despite everything that’s happened with the “G.I. Joe” franchise on the big screen, conversations are still ongoing for a revival.
In 2021, Hasbro and Paramount were working on series plans for a Lady Jaye show that would’ve linked back to the world of the films. That series never happened, but di Bonaventura indicates material created for it is being used on other projects in the larger “G.I.Joe” universe:
“We actually developed a pilot with Amazon. This was before Paramount+, just as Paramount+ was coming in. It didn’t pan out. We are in a lot of conversations about what to do with it as a film, and so I would have to say, most likely, you’re going to see that come to fruition. How soon is always impossible to say. For a long time, there were no active conversations. There’s a lot going on right now.”
The recent “Snake Eyes” reportedly lost Paramount money – grossing just over $40 million against an $88 million budget. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” hits cinemas on Jun 9th.
