GI Joe director is…

UPDATE – Latino Review is now reporting that Stephen Sommers is OUT as director GI JOE. Wow, that was quick. The apparent point of contention was his salary, which was too high for Paramount execs when considering his lackluster resume. So who’s next?

…Stephen Sommers. Yes, the director of VAN HELSING will direct GI JOE for Paramount. So far Sommers hasn’t done anything to fill me with any kind of optimism about his storytelling ability but I’m hoping that GI JOE is so much more of a grounded movie than THE MUMMY or VAN HELSING. I’m hoping he can ease off the cartoonish CGI for just a bit and let Duke and the boys do their thing. Both IESB and IGN got the scoop late last night on Sommers’ involvement. Paramount is apparently looking to close on Sommers’ deal rather quickly to get GI JOE on the fasttrack. Also of note is that the studio is looking to do a script mash-up taking the best elements of the drafts by Skip Woods and David Elliot & Paul Lovett. Earlier this year there were rumors that Mark Wahlberg was in line to star in the film but that could’ve been before Sommers became involved. It’s unclear what this means for Sommers’ remake of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE but considering that’s also a Paramount film, it may just be put on the backburner while JOE heats up.