Last year, Heather Newgen visited the Downey, California set of Stephen Sommer’s upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, based on the popular Hasbro toys and subsequent comic books and cartoons, and she has provided ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! with an extensive report of what she saw:
27 years ago, Hasbro Toys produced an extensive cast of military themed characters known as G.I. Joe. The concept was based on the 1964 12″ action figures, which initially represented the four branches of the US Armed Forces. For the 1982 relaunch of G.I. Joe, the characters were revamped to a much smaller size in scale, a complex mythology for the line was developed, and each action figure had its own biography.
The wildly popular toys sparked the interest of Marvel Comics, which created a comic book on the characters that was used as a creative marketing campaign to generate more awareness for G.I. Joe. The books became the top-selling item for Marvel at one point and soon after, an animated TV show was created. Now, finally after years of hardcore fans hoping for a movie about the military action heroes, Paramount Pictures is releasing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
The live action film, which is primarily based on the comic books, is directed by Stephen Sommers and a lot of the film was shot in Downey, California where ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! had the opportunity to visit the set and talk to Channing Tatum, who plays Duke, Sienna Miller, who portrays The Baroness, and Ray Park, who is Snake Eyes.
You can read the rest of the full report including interviews with Ray Park (“Snake Eyes”) and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura over on Superhero Hype!.
