The last attempt at a G.I. Joe film, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, performed marginally better than its predecessor but still fell short of being the hit Hasbro was hoping it would be, even Dwayne “franchise saviour“ Johnson couldn’t salvage things. The third sequel is still moving forward and THR is telling us that Aaron Berg has just been tapped to write an all-new script for G.I. JOE 3. Previous scripts had been developed by Evan Daugherty and Jonathan Lemkin, but I guess those didn't end up being quite what the studio was looking for.
Several years ago Aaron Berg's spec script SECTION 6, which deals with the formation of British spy agency MI6, sparked a bidding war as well as a lawsuit from MGM and James Bond rights holder Danjaq who claimed it was merely a Bond knockoff. The suit was finally settled earlier this year and the film is moving ahead with Joe Cornish directing and Jack O’Connell attached to star in what could be a new spy franchise for Universal.
I almost felt bad for G.I. JOE: RETALIATION; they thought no one wanted to see Channing Tatum so they shuffled him out of the film as quickly as they could, but somewhere between production and the premiere Tatum's star rose dramatically. Awkward. Will they be able to lure Channing Tatum back for the third attempt? I say go all out; get Channing back, team him up with Dwayne Johnson, and get that rumoured TRANSFORMERS crossover happening; what have they got to lose at this point?
What would you do to get this franchise back on track?