The Four Color Media Monitor

Some news from a few weeks ago that I'd missed until now. Collider announced that a movie teaming GI Joe and Transformers was greenlighted:

Two iconic Hasbro properties are finally having their long-awaited crossover as, according to a recent report from Deadline, Paramount has announced that a film featuring Transformers and G.I. Joe is officially in the works. No director is attached to the project just yet, but the film will be executive produced by Steven Spielberg with Lorenzo di Bonaventura returning to produce alongside Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto, and Don Murphy.

With the popularization of the cinematic universe in Hollywood, thanks in part to Marvel, a crossover between the Transformers and G.I. Joe has been seen as inevitable for a while. However, it wasn’t until the recent release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts last year that fans finally got to see a tease of what’s to come, with the ending featuring Anthony Ramos‘ character being recruited to the secretive military organization known as G.I. Joe. Whether the upcoming film will feature the return of Ramos remains unknown for now, but one can’t help but be excited over the thought of the two Hasbro properties sharing the screen together.

But isn't it a shame GI Joe never succeeded on its own as live action movies? There's probably only been 3 so far, none of which were considered successful artistically, and if the Joes can't stand on their own in film in contrast to how an army of shape-shifting robots did, artistically and/or financially, what's to celebrate? For all we know, a movie like this could just as easily end up a PC mess, much like the Joe movies did. After GI Joe failed on its own in what was possibly deliberate artistic sabotage, it's hard to feel excited about seeing them part of a project with the Transformers where the former could receive second billing alongside the latter.

If the Transformers and GI Joe team-up succeeds, great for the filmmakers. But it's infuriarating how the Joe-based movies were badly handled on their own, and even if this new movie project serves as an attempt to restart the prospects of starring the Joes in another stand-alone live action movie, it's absurd how they'd have to depend on a different franchise to get to that point. Let's also not forget how the left's led to a situation where pride in American identity's been eroded, one of the reasons GI Joe's not exactly making waves even as the toy action figures they originally began as anymore. Oh, and I'm aware of the poor reception the trailers for Transformers: One have received so far, suggesting that not only could even an animated entry misfire, but that even Transformers is beginning to lose whatever impact it could've previously had. Talk about a missed opportunity, if that's what it turns out to be.

Labels: history, licensed products, msm propaganda