It looks like MCU and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga star Chris Hemsworth has found the next franchise he will be starring in. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Hemsworth is in talks to star in the planned upcoming big-screen crossover featuring G.I. Joe and Transformers for Paramount Pictures and Hasbro Entertainment.
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Hemsworth would reportedly star in the upcoming crossover film that was first teased in 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Paramount Pictures first announced the project and revealed a logo for the picture earlier in April during the studio’s showcase presentation at CinemaCon 2024.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH IN TALKS TO STAR IN PLANNED GI JOE/TRANSFORMERS CINEMATIC CROSSOVER
Hemsworth has already gotten some exposure to one of these franchises. He stars in the upcoming CG-animated movie, Transformers One, voicing Orion Pax, aka Optimus Prime, due out later this year. The upcoming film tells the story of the Autobot and Decepticon leaders Optimus Prime and Megatron when they were once close friends and go on a mission to change all of Cybertron. The film hits theaters later in September.
The epilogue of Rise of the Beasts featured Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz getting a job offer from the Joes. Meanwhile, filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. reportedly used the ending in the script with encouragement from producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, knowing it could take some political maneuvering to make the crossover happen.
THR notes that Caple was initially looking to direct the upcoming crossover, but he’s not yet attached. It’s also not yet clear who will write and direct the upcoming crossover feature. Longtime Transformers and GI Joe movie producer di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto, and Don Muprhy will produce it. Steven Spielberg and Hasbro Entertainment are also attached as producers.
While there have been seven big-screen live-action Transformers movies, including Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts, the GI Joe franchise has had less success being translated to the big screen. Following the release of GI Joe: Retaliation, the franchise went dormant for many years before the 2021 release of Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins. The film bombed with critics and at the box office, scoring only 35% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing only $40 million at the domestic box office off of a reported $90-$110 million budget.
Hemsworth is best known for his starring role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in multiple films and solo entries, the last of which was Thor: Love & Thunder in 2022. He recently starred opposite Anya Taylor-Joy in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel to the Best Picture-nominated Mad Max: Fury Road, with George Miller returning as director. Hemsworth goes against his usual type in the film, portraying the villainous warlord, Dementus. While the film garnered very good reviews from critics, it hasn’t done well with audiences, opening well below hopeful projections.
Hemsworth also recently collaborated with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame filmmakers the Russo Bros. for Extraction 2, which was released last year. He reprised his role as Tyler Rake in the new action thriller.
It’s unknown who Chris Hemsworth might play in the upcoming GI Joe/Transformers crossover movie. One would imagine Paramount and the producers are eyeing him to play someone such as GI Joe’s field leader, Duke. It seems unlikely he’d be tapped to play Snake Eyes, a ninja who often wears a mask and has a heavily scarred face. Another potential roadblock for the film is the studio being up for sale. Any potential buyouts or studio mergers could affect the future of the project or cause some delays.
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GI Joe and Transformers have had crossovers before in comic book form, most recently in the Energon Universe from Skybound Entertainment. There have also been some mild connective crossovers in the old Sunbow animated cartoons for GI Joe and Transformers in the 1980s. However, the two iconic properties have never had a proper crossover on the big screen or in live action. It should be interesting to see how this turns out. The film does not yet have an official release date.
What do you think of the news? Are you excited about the planned GI Joe/Transformers movie? Who do you think Chris Hemsworth should play? Should he be a character such as Duke, or maybe a villain of Cobra? What about one of the Dreadnoks? Let us know your thoughts about the news on The Illuminerdi’s social media.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
