American toy and board game company Hasbro created a line of comic and action figures and in 2009, that line was adapted into what has now become the GI Joe movies. The GI Joe movies have so far not been appealing to the critics and with the negative to warm reviews meted to the ones released, the box office numbers have not been up to record-breaking standards. Regardless, the makers of the movie are not in any way backing down from expanding the franchise that has come to stay. In addition to the GI Joe Movies, there have been at least 5 comic books released in the franchise as well as a video game titled G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra which was released on the 4th of August 2009.
How Many GI Joe Movies Are There?
As of this writing, there are only two GI Joe Movies released, they are G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, however, the number is bound to increase as the years go by. The development for a third movie GI Joe: Snake Eyes which would be a spin-off centered on the character Snake Eyes is already in the works. A fourth movie, GI Joe: Ever Vigilant will also be made, although the release date is yet to be announced.
There is more. The franchise has also announced that there would be movies that would be a crossover with the very successful Transformers franchise. Talks to begin making Hasbro’s GI Joe franchise into films began way back in 1994 when Larry Kasanoff and his Threshold Entertainment bought the rights.
Development for the first film began in 2003, however, following the American invasion of the Iraq War later that year, the toy manufacturing company suggested that the Transformers be adapted instead, as GI: Joe would have been inappropriate at the time.
What Is The Order of GI Joe Movies?
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
The first of the GI Joe movies to be released was G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009. The movie tells the story of two American soldiers Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) who join the G.I. Joe Team – an elite covert special mission unit operating under the control of the United States Military following an attack by the M.A.R.S. troops.
The film features an ensemble cast including Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Dennis Quaid, and Rachel Nichols. Upon its release to theaters in August 2009, the film topped box office records but would later struggle to make double its production budget – it grossed $302.5 million against a production budget of $175 million. Metacritic rated the film at 32% and Rotten Tomatoes at 35% with the latter arguing that it was too cartoonish.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
The poor critical reception from the first film notwithstanding, a second GI Joe movie was ready four years later. The main characters from the first movie including Tatum, Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Byung-hun Lee, Arnold Vosloo, and Jonathan Pryce all reprised their roles from the first movie. Making up the ensemble cast are Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson.
Though critical reception for Retaliation was worse than the first, it performed better at the box office with $375.7 million made from a budget falling within the range of $130-155 million.
GI Joe: Snake Eyes (2020)
By 2017, a third GI Joe movie was announced with the release date slated for the year 2020, precisely on the 16th of October. It would be a spin-off on the GI: Joe comic character Snake Eyes telling the story of how he voyaged to Japan for training and eventually found his way back to join the GI Joe Team. Ray Park who portrayed the character in the first two films would be replaced by Henry Golding. It will be directed by Robert Schwentke, a German filmmaker whose credit includes the last two movies in the Divergent film series. The screenwriting would be done by Evan Spiliotopoulos, a Greek-American writer whose enviable CV includes The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Beauty and The Beast, and Lost Treasures.
G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant (TBA)
As of this writing, the fourth installment in the GI: Joe franchise has been revealed to be Ever Vigilant. It would be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner both of whom have been involved since the first movie. The director has been revealed to be D. J. Caruso known for I Am Number Four, and XXX: Return of Xander Cage. The story would be developed by Evan Daugherty, Jonathan Lemkin, and Aaron Berg, and the screenwriting done by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec.
