He's doing it. He's not doing it. Well, this time it's official.
Variety reports the confirmation of
Stephen Sommers as director of Paramount's live-action
G.I. Joe, and now there are exciting rumors of a new writer as well.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce with Hasbro chief operating officer Brian Goldner, Sommers and his partner Bob Ducsay. The studio has set a February production start for a summer 2009 release.
While
G.I. Joe served failed cinematic tours of duty in the past, its momentum has been helped by
Transformers, another cinematic adaptation of a Hasbro brand. That di Bonaventura-produced film has grossed $667 million worldwide for DreamWorks and Paramount.
The movie will be based on the 1980s toy line, Sunbow cartoon and 155-issue Marvel comic book series. In this version, G.I. Joe stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, an international co-ed force of operatives who use hi-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil terrorist organization led by Cobra Commander.
IESB reported a few weeks back that Sommers had been tapped to direct the Joe film, and there were rumblings soon after that the
Mummy director had backed out due to a salary dispute, but those rumors proved false.
"Marrying Steve's vision with 25 years of this brand mythology feels like a great way to go forward," Hasbro's Goldner said.
Sommers claims himself to be a fan of screenwriter
Stuart Beattie's work and sources are telling us that Paramount Studios has hired him on to pen a new script for the potential franchise. Beattie, whose writing credits including the first
Pirates of the Caribbean,
30 Days of Night and
Collateral, is expected to deliver a script in six to eight weeks.