According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Chu, director of the hit documentary JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER (not to mention the last two STEP UP movies), has won the gig to helm the Paramount sequel of real American heroes, beating out reported competitors F. Gary Gray (LAW ABIDING CITIZEN) and Jaume Collet-Serra (UNKNOWN).
The seemingly out-of-left-field decision comes as less of a surprise when you consider that Chu has quickly become a good chum of Paramount’s thanks to NEVER SAY NEVER’s $53 million gross (so far) from a reportedly $13 million production budget.
But who will – or won’t – be returning for the sequel? THR says that Paramount may end up recasting some of the film’s major roles. Specifically, it’s uncertain if fan-favorite Joseph Gordon-Levitt (perhaps the best part of the first film) or the sexy Sienna Miller would be coming back. Channing Tatum fans need not worry, though, as the set of washboard abs (who’s already worked with the new director on STEP UP 2: THE STREETS) is expected to reprise the role of ‘Duke’.
As for Chu, in a recent interview with MovieWeb, he spoke of his love for the Joe property and how he hopes to turn it into the respectable movie experience he feels it deserves:
“Joe, to me, is iconic. It is as American as Coke and the Boy Scouts. To have that kind of history in a brand is so rare these days. And that is so powerful. So you can’t treat Joe like its just another action movie. You can’t treat Joe as just another petty commercial movie. Joe has history. Joe has always been a part of what America is, and now the world. What it means to be a leader and a hero. For me, it is about the fun stuff like Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, and all the gadgets. All of that stuff. But it has heart. Its heart is what America, and what heroes and leaders around the world, strive to be. I think that is what the brand needs. It needs the respect to be treated in that way.”
Do you agree with his sentiments or is he dipping into some major hyperbole there?