No G.I. joke: Live-action G.I. Joe is coming

After yesterday’s excitement about the upcoming Indiana Jones movie, I’m equally excited today with recent casting news for “G.I. Joe,” which is set for release in 2009.

Following the success of “Transformers,” the other Hasbro toy-based movie, “G.I. Joe” got the greenlight late last year.
Filming has just started up, and Joe fans have been treated to an image of Dennis Quaid, who plays General Hawk, a sort of senior non-field commander for the team.

The rest of the cast is filling up nicely, among the key players are Ray Park (Darth Maul from “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”) and Christopher Eccleston (“Doctor Who”) as Destro.

Rumors also place Joseph-Gordon Levitt as Cobra Commander, the leader of the bad guys, and Arnold Vosloo (“The Mummy”) as Zartan, the vile master of disguise.

What’s great about the idea of bringing “G.I. Joe” to a live-action film is that, as the 1980s cartoon show proves, it can follow any number of characters without losing focus.
As long as it’s a “Real American Hero” team up against a “ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world” it will be a butt-kicking movie.
Let’s just hope that in this incarnation they’ll actually hit one-another with their laser guns.