Was killing Duke really a good idea?

[Cerebral Dissolution]

Who knows how the revision will turn out, for all we know Duke dies and stays dead, regardless of his on-screen time. I am not the biggest Channing fan (actually I cringed watching him in just about every screen in ROC), and wish they chose someone who looked and acted more like the Duke we all know (like more manly for starters).

And I know some hate Duke, and with Channing playing him, seems like killing him off would please a lot of tankers.

But considering how many Duke figures get made, wouldnt Hasbro be shooting themselves in the foot if they extend the line or even do a follow up to the movie (like POC followed ROC) if they couldnt make a dozen more Dukes?

I guess nothing is really stopping them if they wanted to anyway, but it would still be odd. No idea why they would make a Duke figure to put into the Ghost Hawk II either (as opposed to a real pilot), but there are 2 figures for a guy who is supposed to die pretty early in the movie.

And who would replace him? Is anyone excited about X amount of Roadblock variants? I liked Roadblock for years dont get me wrong, and HATED that somehow "Heavy Duty" stole his role, but I dont like him enough to buy more than the one Roadblock I have gotten from the dojo set.

I know its the Rock. I love the Rock as much as anyone. But the Rock is playing Roadblock, and if they did a GI Joe III (and I hope they dont, and just reboot the series at some point), I'd rather see a Duke leading the way versus anyone else, including Flint.

[blayze5150]

I don't think it was a good idea, especially now that Channing Tatum's career is picking up steam! I'm not a Channing Tatum Duke fan, something I've been very vocal about on this board. If it would build up interest in the brand, though, I'd let Miley Cyrus play Duke!

[Owner of a Lonely B.A.T.]

I hear their just gonna loop in some dialog that says, "He slipped into a coma." and "Duke's just come out of his coma."

[blayze5150]

I hear their just gonna loop in some dialog that says, "He slipped into a coma." and "Duke's just come out of his coma."
That's an original idea! I say we get Burgess Meredith to voiceover a new bad guy for the movie. He is still alive, isn't he?

[Cerebral Dissolution]

I hear their just gonna loop in some dialog that says, "He slipped into a coma." and "Duke's just come out of his coma."

lol

[blayze5150]

Was Duke in a coma in "Rise of Cobra?" With Channing Tatum's acting, I couldn't tell.

[vermillion21]

F-ing damn straight yes!!! F-Duke, what a lame character.

[Money-B]

I hear their just gonna loop in some dialog that says, "He slipped into a coma." and "Duke's just come out of his coma."

That's not even funny.

Well kinda, but still.

[thejuan]

If he could act and I didn't hate the sound of his voice then I wouldn't mind them keeping him around. The toys with his likeness are made of about as much plastic as he is.

[karamazov80]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mhx8up4d1qcohh8.gif

[Owner of a Lonely B.A.T.]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mhx8up4d1qcohh8.gif


Quoted just for the sheer awesomeness of a Bryan YES, YES, YES gif.

[ROC Solid Snake]

No. Unfortunately Chu, trying to be a fan loyalist,(God bless him) listened to all the belly-achers here about Duke/Channing Tatum. Most of those same people hate Duke the character, going all the way back to Sunbow. I thought Tatum played a good role for what he had to work with, and what ROC was. ALL of the people that aren't avid Joe-fans, that I know, who saw the movie, loved it. Every one of those people commented on the non-stop action from start to finish. I guarantee, that is what caused the negative focus testing; people who saw the first movie, and enjoyed it. I mean you've got freaking Bruce Willis and the Rock; what else could it be. Remember, you got the same negative results when they tried to kill Duke in the animated movie.

[Storm]

Im probably the only one here but I hate Duke!! And I dont mean Tatumm I mean the Duke!! So whoever would play him I will always say yes, kill the f***ing Duke. Let the more competent Joes lead the team like Stalker or Flint.

[Jmacq1]

Remember, you got the same negative results when they tried to kill Duke in the animated movie.

Actually from everything I've heard, that's not true. The reason Duke got his "radio ressurection" was because of reaction to Optimus Prime's death in Transformers: The Movie.

We don't really know how kids might've reacted to Duke "dying." He was nowhere NEAR as important and central to the Sunbow Joe toons as Optimus Prime was to Transformers.

As for killing him in RoC, it's ultimately irrelevant. It's a nice nod to the fans that hated Tatum's Duke in RoC, and God forbid we get a few extra Flint and Roadblock figures instead of a dozen Duke variants. There are other characters that can fill the leadership void if need be, and unless Tatum's performance sudden massively improves I see no reason to keep him on board with the franchise for anything other than marketability to women and teenage girls.

It's also ultimately irrelevant to the toy line. Once the movie passes they can easily start cranking out Duke action figures again, or include him in future cartoons, or whatever. The movie doesn't define Joe forevermore, particularly where the toys are concerned.

[rdodger]

No!!!! Duke is a very important character in the Joe-verse. If Jon Chu really cares about GI Joe, he won't kill one of its main characters. (And is Scarlett dead too?) That's crazy. Introduce some new greenshirt and kill him instead. Leave the core characters alone. If you want a change, give Duke and Scarlett less screen time, but don't take them out altogether. And it's only the second move. Are we really ready to move on to other characters already? This story is just getting started. Larry Hama never killed off Duke, and Larry knows GI Joe better than anyone. That's good enough for me. He managed to juggle a whole lot of Joes and Cobras in his stories, which were second to none. And what about Resolute and Renegades? Duke and Scarlett were central to those stories. I thought fans liked them. Come on, Hasbro. Don't make a terrible mistake. Duke must live!

[Fox]

Of course it is a good idea!

Killing Duke isn't killing Duke of the cartoon, comic and toys it's killing the Duke who's best friends with a comic relief Ripcord. It's killing the Duke who's love of his Life is the Baroness. It's killing the Duke who uses an Accelerator suit. Killing that Duke is a representation of doing away with all the things that made ROC a bad movie.

[Troynos]

It was a bad move. The only reason they did it in Retaliation was to kiss up to fans like us that hated Tatum as Duke.

The reasons it's stupid:
1- Duke is a fairly popular/major character in the Joe mythos (even though I can't stand any incarnation of Duke where he's the leader)
2- Tatum is a name actor

[youdoitimbusy]

If it gets us new figures in wave one from here on out, I say kill off duke snake eyes storm shadow and cobra comander...on a side note for everyone who thinks tatum is a bad actor just wait tell you see the rock in the new gi joe movie. I don't even need to see it to know its going to be piss poor to say the best.

[VideoViper]

Tatum wasn't Duke Granted most ROC charactors weren't really like their earlier counterparts, But Duke wasn't even written as Duke (Rookie who leads the Joes I don't think so.)

In Joe I say anyone can die, Is it a good idea to kill off Duke? maybe/maybe not.

But Tatum was bad, & has to go.

I think the rumors (spoilers) about Dukes death being bad had more to do with, why the heck should we care about this guy more than the other 40 Joes that just got killed. Sounds like they need an extra scene or 2 to develop story, That's OK with me.

[Jmacq1]

If it gets us new figures in wave one from here on out, I say kill off duke snake eyes storm shadow and cobra comander...on a side note for everyone who thinks tatum is a bad actor just wait tell you see the rock in the new gi joe movie. I don't even need to see it to know its going to be piss poor to say the best.

Please.

The Rock at his absolute worst is still a thousand times more charismatic and fun to watch than Tatum on the best day of his life.

[Crimson Rage]

Abject dumbassery.

Pretty pathetic that the one main link to RoC was summarily wiped out to appease the haters.

Also pretty pathetic to say to the people for whom Retaliation was the first film "Here's the leader of the Joes... now he's dead... please care"

Both of the above are indicative of Chu's lack of experience: "Hey, I like Roadblock, let's put him in charge!" (and yes I know he didn't write the film, but clearly he had input)

[Stuart_Selkirk]

Of course, it was not a good idea.
Whatever you may think about Channing Tatum or his more or less skilled acting, he's playing one of GI JOE's more important hero characters and killing such a character off is never a smart move.

Despite the chestbeating that's going on here where some people state how much they hate Duke as a character or Tatum as an actor, in this kind of movie universe, you don't kill Duke.

It would also be a smart move to drop the info during the movie that other hero characters like Hawk, Ripcord, Scarlett etc. might still be alive so you don't limit yourself to a handful of characters and actors or have to introduce new characters in further movies.

Anyway, my 2 Cents.

[THE RED SHADOWS]

killing duke was / IS a very very bad idea.

Channing tantum is NOT my first or even last choice to play Duke ( I wanted a Blonde guy ) but the character o DUKE is far too important. Fan boys like Snake Eyes, but DUKE is the character semi fans/casual regular movie goers will want to see and they are the bigger group

[Knight-Owl]

That's an original idea! I say we get Burgess Meredith to voiceover a new bad guy for the movie. He is still alive, isn't he?

Nope, he died in 1997.
He does have a cool voice though.
I could see Scrap Iron having a voice like his.

[Crimson Rage]

Tatum wasn't Duke Granted most ROC charactors weren't really like their earlier counterparts, But Duke wasn't even written as Duke (Rookie who leads the Joes I don't think so.)

In Joe I say anyone can die, Is it a good idea to kill off Duke? maybe/maybe not.

But Tatum was bad, & has to go.

I think the rumors (spoilers) about Dukes death being bad had more to do with, why the heck should we care about this guy more than the other 40 Joes that just got killed. Sounds like they need an extra scene or 2 to develop story, That's OK with me.

So if D J Catrona "sucks" as Flint, should he be killed in GI JOE 3? If enough people say Roadblock was "wooden", should Roadblock die? How many characters should be eliminated to appease the loudest protesters (ones who rarely, if ever represent the 'majority' who just shrug and move on). Do we work our way through the Joe roster until we wipe out someone you care about?

[rdodger]

How many characters should be eliminated to appease the loudest protesters (ones who rarely, if ever represent the 'majority' who just shrug and move on). Do we work our way through the Joe roster until we wipe out someone you care about?

^Well said.

[Moses]

I agree that Duke is probably the most iconic character to the casual movie-goer, and killing him off is a bad idea for the franchise. Channing is no great actor, but his acting chops have improved since ROC and I still blame most of the crappy performances in the first movie on the director. I bet Chu could get Tatum to be a much more acceptable Duke - at least he knew who the chartacter was before starting work on the film. Sommers just wanted accelerator suits in his movie. At least the producers killed Sommers off from the franchise

[WVMojo]

I think it's a toss-up. Killing Duke - while I have made lots of comments that I'm pro-Dead Duke, it's not the chracter that I wanted dead, it was Chatum (someone on here called him that and I laughed so hard that I can't NOT use it) that I really didn't care for and still don't. Maybe 21 Jumpstreet will change how I view him as a no-talent ass clown...

My overall Like / Hate relationship with Duke has changed somewhat over the years -

ARAH Duke I didn't care for and like the cartoon I used him as a captured Joe that needed rescued.

Battle Corps Duke I thought was a badass toy and I could make him cool because I didn't see a TV show with him being a GI Schmoe.

RoC Duke - again tainted by Chatum.

Renegades Duke - I really liked...not my favorite character on the show, but he was portrayed really well. I'm glad my kids saw that version first.

[crock master]

chanses are they prob wont kill him now. since g i joe is too raw for paramont

[Raw Dog]

I don't think it was a good idea to kill Duke off in the first 10 minutes of Retaliation. Not only has Channing Tatum become a big star, but Duke (along with Snake Eyes) has been the main guy since the turn of the century and was one of the main guys before that as well.

[Cerebral Dissolution]

Well what if Duke died in Resolute or even Renegades? I guess he's much more central in those than he is in ROC/Retaliation, but I just mean as part of the toyline too. Duke is as much GI Joe as Snake Eyes.

[Griff]

What would be great is that dudke, seemingly dead, is actually laying (face completely wrapped) in a hospital bed somehwere and towards the end of the film he and Scarlett show up to help Roadblock and and the others but hes got a brand new face (hence a way to keep duke alive for hasbro but get rid of tatum). I may not have been a big duke fan but i certainly dont wanna see the character take a dirt nap. I just hope flint Gets some good screen time as well.

[Troops of Doom]

But considering how many Duke figures get made, wouldnt Hasbro be shooting themselves in the foot if they extend the line or even do a follow up to the movie (like POC followed ROC) if they couldnt make a dozen more Dukes?

I guess nothing is really stopping them if they wanted to anyway, but it would still be odd. No idea why they would make a Duke figure to put into the Ghost Hawk II either (as opposed to a real pilot), but there are 2 figures for a guy who is supposed to die pretty early in the movie.

Hasbro has made figures of characters that have died before so there's nothing stopping them from making more.

On the other hand, Duke is the only Retaliation figure warming the pegs here, so maybe making a dozen more versions isn't a great idea.

Frankly I hope Duke dies. I tiered of him being shoved down our throats, especially since he's always portrayed so badly. GI Joe has a huge roster, spread the love around.

[Troynos]

Well what if Duke died in Resolute or even Renegades? I guess he's much more central in those than he is in ROC/Retaliation, but I just mean as part of the toyline too. Duke is as much GI Joe as Snake Eyes.

Duke was very central to RoC. The story basically revolved around him. Which is why his death would be an issue with Retaliation since alot of people that would have gone to see Retaliation are not Joe fans and only know Duke from the movie, where he was central.

What would be great is that dudke, seemingly dead, is actually laying (face completely wrapped) in a hospital bed somehwere and towards the end of the film he and Scarlett show up to help Roadblock and and the others but hes got a brand new face (hence a way to keep duke alive for hasbro but get rid of tatum). I may not have been a big duke fan but i certainly dont wanna see the character take a dirt nap. I just hope flint Gets some good screen time as well.



That would be stupid. Sorry, but that's just horrible storytelling.

[Lantern_Lad]

I always liked Duke. I thought the character was underused in the comics & over used in the Sunbow series. I think, as a toy, he is overproduced.

I DO NOT like Channing Tatum. I think he is overused, and overrated. My wife likes him though, so she'll go see the movie with me even though she did not like the first movie. I think a lot of wives/girlfriends will go with their husbands/boyfriends, possibly increasing ticket sales.

Regardless, I don't think the character should get the axe.

I bet, after the reshoot, he'll just be captured again. That is usually what happens with Duke.

[SonOfMindbender]

No, I'm going to stay consistent. Duke can go, bridge or no bridge from the first pile of crap. I would have been happier with a reboot anyway. You want more Duke, go see Magic Mike on the 28th.

[Griff]

Duke was very central to RoC. The story basically revolved around him. Which is why his death would be an issue with Retaliation since alot of people that would have gone to see Retaliation are not Joe fans and only know Duke from the movie, where he was central.





That would be stupid. Sorry, but that's just horrible storytelling.

Yah i know it would be stupid....but lets face it...its no worse than what they;re doin' now. .

[Troynos]

Yah i know it would be stupid....but lets face it...its no worse than what they;re doin' now. .

Of course it is.

What are they doing now that is so bad?

We haven't seen either version of Retaliation (pre-reshoots or post-reshoots) we we have absolutely 0 idea which way would be better.

If having Tatum in the movie gets more ticket sales, that's a good thing regardless of what we think of the guy's acting abilities.

[Griff]

Of course it is.

What are they doing now that is so bad?

We haven't seen either version of Retaliation (pre-reshoots or post-reshoots) we we have absolutely 0 idea which way would be better.

If having Tatum in the movie gets more ticket sales, that's a good thing regardless of what we think of the guy's acting abilities.

More or less at the moment just the publich snafu of what they're doing with the movie. As far as tatum bringing in ticket sales...I think the rock is a much bigger draw than tatum.

[Troynos]

I really doubt the snafu is that public. It's on Joe sites, movie sites and insiders but how much does that affect the general public?

Not much.

By the time March rolls around, chances are that most of the general public will forget the movie was ever delayed.

[Griff]

I really doubt the snafu is that public. It's on Joe sites, movie sites and insiders but how much does that affect the general public?

Not much.

By the time March rolls around, chances are that most of the general public will forget the movie was ever delayed.

Maybe...guess we'll see. Im still hoping for duke-kibble though :D

[VideoViper]

It would be a very GI Joe thing to do to Kill off someone you weren't expecting

Spoiler as if you didn't already know

ROC - Storm Shadow (brought back later)
ROC - Covergirl
Resolute - Bazooka
Renegades - RipCord (Later brought back)
Renegades Finalie - Most of Cobra (Granted would all be brought back for a season 2)
Retaliation - Mouse, Duke & at least one Joe unit.
Comics - Marvel they killed 7 guys in one issue, various others in other issues.
Comics - DWI/other - Not sure but they do kill off a few

Point is they kill off charactors all the time, If they really want them back, they find a way to bring them back. Enjoy Joe 2 for what it is the end of Tatum/a charactor called Duke but wasn't Duke. If you really want I'm sure we can have cyborg Duke back for part 3.

[ero]

Sure. But so is bringing him back. It's becoming a thing with Joe movies. An inside joke. Brilliant guerilla marketing, I say.

[rdodger]

What about the kids? So maybe some kids watched the Renegades CARTOON and liked it enough to convince mommy and daddy to buy them some GI Joe action figures. That's what Hasbro wanted right? And maybe they liked Duke since he was key to the story. And maybe Retaliation will be released next year. (Hopefully) So what happens when little Jimmy talks his parents into taking him to see Retaliation and he sees one of his favorite characters bite the bullet. Ouch. He's sad and now mom and dad are mad at Hasbro. That will help toy sales. Not. Killing a main character shouldn't be done lightly. I still think it's a terrible idea.

[Crazy Legs]

Yes, it was a good idea.
They should have replaced him with Flint like they did in the cartoon openings where the later 2 replaces the first JOE to appear saying YO JOE from Duke to Flint.

[gyrapados]

Killing Duke is ALWAYS a good idea.

[kingphilbert]

I never though they killed him off in the first place for this movie. Prob just taken by Cobra and back in the end.

[uberthawk]

like the end of the cartoon movie...duke pulls through at the end

[luigi]

like the end of the cartoon movie...duke pulls through at the end

originally they did kill him(watch the scene carefully you can see blood) then because killing duke would be to inappropriate for the children they changed dead to coma

[GI Joe Eternal]

I like the Duke character, but HATE that turd Tatum. Killing Duke just to rid Tatum from an otherwise enjoyable movie franchise is a perfectly-acceptable sacrifice.

He's a shitty "actor", and no, it wasn't just the ROC script, director, etc. Rachel Nicols was tolerable as Scarlett, despite the awful dialogue and flat script. None of us are bitching about her. In fact, I think she'll be missed in the sequel.

Tatum and the Wayans brother were just DEAD wrong for their roles.

Kill 'em both (Resolute already killed the Wayans!).

[Snow Wolf]

Supposedly, too many parents were upset at Duke dying.

It's the same reason why everytime a Cobra jet/tank/vehicle gets hit and blows up, the pilot/driver ALWAYS escaped.....they were uncomfortable with even no-name characters dying.

I also read somewhere that Ripcord was originally supposed to be Stalker, but some people thought it would prove problematic to name a black lead actor "Stalker". If true, that is so lame! Stalker is one of my favourites too. I think a younger Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed-Rocky films) would have made an awesome Stalker.

So instead, they stole the identity of another one of my childhood favourites; original 1984 Ripcord.

Wayans was ok as the comic relief, but I agree that Tatum was a poor casting choice as Duke. Maybe his acting has improved since ROC?

originally they did kill him(watch the scene carefully you can see blood) then because killing duke would be to inappropriate for the children they changed dead to coma

like the end of the cartoon movie...duke pulls through at the end

[Riotheory]

Always was; always will be.

R.

[ROC Solid Snake]

Actually from everything I've heard, that's not true. The reason Duke got his "radio ressurection" was because of reaction to Optimus Prime's death in Transformers: The Movie.

We don't really know how kids might've reacted to Duke "dying." He was nowhere NEAR as important and central to the Sunbow Joe toons as Optimus Prime was to Transformers.

As for killing him in RoC, it's ultimately irrelevant. It's a nice nod to the fans that hated Tatum's Duke in RoC, and God forbid we get a few extra Flint and Roadblock figures instead of a dozen Duke variants. There are other characters that can fill the leadership void if need be, and unless Tatum's performance sudden massively improves I see no reason to keep him on board with the franchise for anything other than marketability to women and teenage girls.

It's also ultimately irrelevant to the toy line. Once the movie passes they can easily start cranking out Duke action figures again, or include him in future cartoons, or whatever. The movie doesn't define Joe forevermore, particularly where the toys are concerned.

Not even really worth arguing the point, but I think you know how it would have gone over with kids had Duke been killed. I'm sure there will be liars that post to the contrary, but nobody said as a kid, fuck the Joes, It's Cobra for life. We all as kids had our favorite Cobras, but Joes were the good guys, and that's what most kids identified with.

[07GT500 COBRA]

Not really.

Now, Channing Tatum on the other hand...

[Owner of a Lonely B.A.T.]

All I'm saying is this....leave the slaughter as is...poorly dub in any character saying, 'Duke slipped into a coma.' late in the film dub in a radio message saying he came out, and I will mark out harder than I have ever marked out in my fan life, and I will leave a puddle of piss in that theater chair laughing.

[Raysohood]

I agree that Duke is probably the most iconic character to the casual movie-goer, and killing him off is a bad idea for the franchise. Channing is no great actor, but his acting chops have improved since ROC and I still blame most of the crappy performances in the first movie on the director. I bet Chu could get Tatum to be a much more acceptable Duke - at least he knew who the chartacter was before starting work on the film. Sommers just wanted accelerator suits in his movie. At least the producers killed Sommers off from the franchise

^^^This. The I heard he dies was stupid. If ur gonna atleast kill him off make him die like a boss.Duke is my character and I happen to like tatum now so my answer is
http://i49.tinypic.com/6ieixl.gif

I say Capture him or put him in coma. It aint hard to do.