As previously rumored, it was confirmed last week that Jon M. Chu, director of The LXD, Step Up 3 and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, has signed on to direct the G.I. Joe sequel: 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never' Director Jon Chu Tapped For 'G.I. Joe 2.'
Say what you will about his previous dance/music-centric work, but what's actually encouraging about this news is that Chu grew up in the era of G.I. Joe's heyday, is a self-professed Joe fan, and vows to make film worthy of fellow fans -- like myself:
"'Joe' is something I've loved since I was a kid," Chu confessed to MTV News when word of his possible involvement first leaked. "My era was 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' 'G.I. Joe' and 'Transformers.' When 'Joe' changed their theme song from the old style 'Go Joe!' to 'Got to get tough, go Joe!' That was the era I was in. Those are the fun, glory years that I remember."I mean, it's got to at least be better than the first one, right? So... I wonder if we can expect to see Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow settle things once and for all... with a b-boy battle! Better yet, I hope we get to see Justin Bieber as evil twin brothers Tomax and Xamot, commanders of the Crimson Guard, running into battle and promptly getting accidentally squashed by a H.I.S.S. tank.
Directed by Stephen Sommers and starring, among others, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Channing Tatum, and Sienna Miller, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was released in 2009 to over $300 million worldwide but mostly middling reviews.
While it is unclear which of the stars will return for the sequel, Chu believes there's a definite opportunity to build on the first film's successes, while possibly taking the sequel in another direction.
"I still think there's a movie out there that can be done for the real 'Joe' fans," he said, "the one we've been waiting for that hasn't been done before."