Despite Paramount and Hasbro’s intentions to turn it into a viable franchise, audiences have never seemed to be all that interested in G.I. Joe. The two movies so far have earned a combined total of $678 million at the box office, which is over $100 million less than the average gross across the studio’s six-film Transformers series.
With over $300 million funnelled into production costs and then the additional marketing expenses, the movies have never exactly been huge money-spinners, and both suffered from equally tepid reviews. Seemingly undeterred by the mediocrity, though, next year’s spinoff Snake Eyes is hoping that a third consecutive soft launch will do the trick, although the jury is still very much out on that one, too.
The third installment in the main timeline, meanwhile, has remained rooted in development hell ever since it was first announced, but reports have been circulating that Paramount are looking for some big stars to bolster the roster with a returning Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Tom Holland and John Cena all being linked with roles.
Insider Daniel Richtman has now claimed that Idris Elba is another name under consideration to board the G.I. Joe franchise, in what would be pretty straightforward amalgamation of the the actor’s characters in Pacific Rim and Hobbs & Shaw in terms of both personality and aesthetic.
The 48 year-old is a reliably solid presence in anything he appears in, but he’s still looking for that career-defining turn in a major blockbuster after typically being relegated to the background in his big budget efforts. G.I. Joe may not provide that, but Elba would nonetheless be a welcome addition, one that would go a long way to getting people interested in the elite military unit’s next potential adventure.