There’s been a lot of back and forth on if and when Paramount Pictures might move forward with G.I. Joe 3, especially when previous director Jon Chu moved onto other things, but since then, the third installment has been announced for a 2016 release and Paramount have now hired Jonathan Lemkin to write it.
A TV writer in the late ’80s and ’90s on shows like “Hill Street Blues” and “21 Jump Street,” Lemkin has a fairly short filmography, having written 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate and 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4 as well as 2007’s Mark Wahlberg movie Shooter for Paramount. The latter film was produced by Lorenzo DiBonaventura, who is also the producer of the “G.I. Joe” franchise, giving him two previous connections that may have helped him get the assignment. Lemkin is also adapting a GQ article called The Longest Night for Paramount which Frank Marshall is attached to direct.
While no plot details are available and it’s not determined whether any previous development on the third movie will be retained, it’s safe to assume that Dwayne Johnson’s Roadblock, who became a fan favorite after being introduced in last year’s $370 million grossing sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, will be returning and playing a major role in the third movie. Others from that movie should also be returning.
The hope is to get the film into production by sometime next year for it to meet its 2016 release date.
