Channing Tatum is on board to reprise the role of Duke in G.I. Joe 2: Cobra Strikes, and prior reports suggest Lee Byung-hun (Storm Shadow) and Ray Park (Snake Eyes) may also return. Otherwise, Paramount is looking to a new cast to liven up the sequel. The big get is Dwayne Johnson. The man has revealed a penchant for joining film series midstream with Fast Five and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. G.I. Joe will make it a trend if/when Johnson officially commits to playing Roadblock. Elodie Yung signed on earlier this month to add more fresh blood as Jinx. Tonight, Heat Vision adds two more names: RZA and D.J. Cotrona.
Cotrona is in talks to play Flint, identified in the original series by his shotgun and beret. RZA will play the Blind Master, a martial arts expert who once trained Snake Eyes and Jinx in martial arts. The Wu-Tang Clan leader is carving out a nice second career as an actor. Mostly comic work so far, but you can’t keep RZA away from filmic martial arts for too long (and who would want to?). His next project — as writer, director, and star — is The Man with the Iron Fists, somehow starring Russell Crowe.
Directed by Jon Chu ( G.I. Joe 2 is scheduled for release on August 10, 2012.
