Consider this a rumor until confirmation is received, but with that said, Screen Rant has posted up a rather interesting article pertaining to G.I.Joe 3. It appears as though Martin Campbell is in talks to direct the 3rd installment. With movies like Golden Eye, Zorro and Casino Royale under his belt, this will hopefully mean great things for the franchise. Here’s a bit of the article –
With films like Goldeneye, Casino Royale and Edge of Darkness under his belt, it’s clear that Campbell can do darker action/espionage thriller material with a confident hand. On the other side of that filmography, films like Green Lantern and the two Zorro movies suggest that Campbell isn’t nearly as strong with pulpier hero material. The question for G.I. Joe 3 then, is which side of Martin Campbell are the producers most interested in?What would be interesting to see is how much (or little) Campbell embraces the ninja/mysticism elements of the G.I. Joe franchise. The story of Snake Eyes, his rival Storm Shadow and their ninja sect has arguably been the best part of the G.I. Joe movies; but how much of a fit would all that be in a truly grounded, thriller-type action film?
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So what say you, Hisstank Faithful? Good news or another reason to pull your hair out? Share your thoughts with us after the break!
Xerofall says
Still a rumor and "in talks" but I'm pretty happy if he does get to direct. Goldeneye, Zorro and Casino Royale were all great movies.
‘G.I. Joe 3′: Director Martin Campbell Reportedly in Talks
Since that discussion, the third installment has picked up a writer in the form of Shooter and Devil’s Advocate scribe Jonathan Lemkin, presumably in the hopes that he will better execute the plan that is in place. Now we have word that G.I. Joe 3 could also get a much different sort of director.
Schmoe’s Know has word from their sources that none other than Casino Royale, Goldeneye and Green Lantern director Martin Campbell is in early talks to helm G.I. Joe 3. The first two films were directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) and Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2&3), respectively, which means the producers are definitely looking to switch things up, stylistically, if they are considering Campbell as a replacement.
Sommers made G.I. Joe into an over-the-top, tech-heavy action/comedy that barely resembled the cartoon series fans were accustomed to; Chu sought to “ground things” with a more traditional military action flick, but still took it over the top with moments like cartoonish ninja zip line battles on frozen mountains. Needless to say, even with their respective good points, neither of these versions of G.I. Joe were what fans would call “spot-on,” or “highly-enjoyable.”
With films like Goldeneye, Casino Royale and Edge of Darkness under his belt, it’s clear that Campbell can do darker action/espionage thriller material with a confident hand. On the other side of that filmography, films like Green Lantern and the two Zorro movies suggest that Campbell isn’t nearly as strong with pulpier hero material. The question for G.I. Joe 3 then, is which side of Martin Campbell are the producers most interested in?
Here’s what Lorenzo di Bonaventura told us over the summer:
“I have to say I’m really excited about what we’ve come up with on G.I. Joe 3. I think it’s one of the best ideas for a sequel I’ve ever run into, and I think the audience is going to be really, really happy with us.”
So far we’ve met the Joe team in their prime, and then watched them climb back from near-extinction using bare minimum resources, so where do we go from there? Given the talent being assembled behind the camera, one could surmise that a deeper, semi-political, race-against-time type movie may be the plan – perhaps even something that involves bringing back Channing Tatum’s Duke? (We’ve already heard that it’s not impossible.)
What would be interesting to see is how much (or little) Campbell embraces the ninja/mysticism elements of the G.I. Joe franchise. The story of Snake Eyes, his rival Storm Shadow and their ninja sect has arguably been the best part of the G.I. Joe movies; but how much of a fit would all that be in a truly grounded, thriller-type action film?
And so we really come back to the central issue of this entire movie franchise: how to balance the more fantastical elements with a realistic military actioner. The eclectic mix works fine in a cartoon or a comic book series, but as we’ve seen (in multiple examples), getting that tone right in live-action is much harder. Is Martin Campbell the man that could do it?
Right now, talks with Campbell are said to be early. So we’ll have to wait and see if a deal actually goes through.
G.I. Joe 3 is expected to be released some time in 2016.
Source: HOT SCOOP: Has GI JOE 3 Found Its Director??? | Schmoes Know…
Steevy Maximus says
The biggest concern I have with these crew selections, is a fear that in trying to make a "good" GI Joe film, we end up with a film that eschews many of the fantastic elements that made the brand so memorable in the first place.
JediJones says
He would be the best director the series has had by far. A James Bond director is a fitting choice since G.I. Joe of the '80s was inspired by Bond in some big ways. Even Green Lantern was better than the Joe movies we got. Campbell is 71 years old though, so this was a guy who was already too old to play with the original G.I. Joe doll when it debuted. He isn't likely to have any built-in understanding of how the franchise was handled in the '80s, so he's likely to just run with his own take on it, which was part of the problem with the movies so far. A pure military or spy thriller G.I. Joe movie isn't faithful to ARAH, with all its sci-fi elements. And that kind of serious movie doesn't sell toys...kids don't buy James Bond and Mission: Impossible toys. I also don't envy any director trying to make a part 3 fit with the 2 lousy movies that came before.
TronViper says
This could be promising news...Goldeneye is a Bond classic and Casino Royale is amazing. And the best part of Green Lantern was Sinestro, imo, so we need not worry if Destro was to return. Or introduce Tomax & Xamot, this director can do villains well. Just please don't bring back Channing Tatum's Duke!! Imo, Tatum was better in 10 mins of Retaliation screen time then the whole ROC film. When people think of Duke they think of the brave, iconic leader, not the character we got in the 1st two movies. If they are gonna bring back Duke at least do a reboot movie with a new actor.
I apologize for the rant there at the end....I had to get that off my chest!
sevenlima says
So far is a good diretor.
skinny says
Sommers wanted to do his idea of a Bond film and made a mess.
Chu had to try and fix that mess and inthe process made some gains but was still not quite there for some fans. I liked Casino Royale liked Goldeneye even better it is the only Bond film I have on DVD. Meh on Green Lantern.
If Campbell can pull off a more military film all the better.
Also if this is going to go the espionage route, you can bring in Chuckles, and Mainframe, bring back the Baroness, and of course Scarlett. You could introduce Agent Faces and the biggest spies of all, the Crimson Guards. A plot involving clandestine ops by Crimson Guards in this modern terrorism laden society we have would be extremely topical. Send the Joes best spies, in to ferret out the various Crimson Guards plans. Then Roadblock, Snake Eyes and the rest attack each cel.
USAgent says
With such mixed results in his filmography I have a bad feeling that Joe3 will end up on the Green Lantern/Zorro side of his resume... I suppose it would all come down to how he attacks it- Military Action Adventure with a touch of sci-fi (Bond), or comic book style over-the top toy commercial (GL)
RL Bliss says
Finally some news about this movie. He sounds like a great choice to me. He's certainly light years ahead of Chu and what's his face.
On a side note, I'm not really thrilled with focusing more on Roadblock. The Rock was my least favorite in Retaliation.
JediJones says
Casino Royale was the best action picture since Raiders of the Lost Ark. I thought Goldeneye was too cheesy but it's been 20 years since I've seen it. Green Lantern was one of the weaker superhero films. It was still better than Superman Returns and it at least looked better than either G.I. Joe movie so far. Campbell is at least a real professional director and is unlikely to screw things up if he gets a good script.
Noga87 says
That would be great if it is true!
Keep reading: GI Joe 3 director Martin Campbell announced? - Page 2
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