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Jon M. Chu talks Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe: Retaliation

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Having cut his teeth on the dance flicks Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D and concert movie Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, director Jon M. Chu has now turned his attention to classic 80s kids cartoons; at the moment, he’s currently putting the finishing touches to the delayed action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, before swapping one toy adaptation for another as he prepares to direct a live-action Masters of the Universe movie, and he’s taken a moment to discuss both properties in an interview with Celebuzz:
“I was approached about doing a Masters of the Universe movie and while at first I was skeptical, I read the script and I was blown away. I had no idea what to expect but it was such a fresh, UNEXPECTED approach I was immediately intrigued…  I feel like there’s a lot of room to crack open the Masters of the Universe story. We are still in our process and I think we have some great seeds planted but making one of these types of movies RIGHT takes a lot of TONAL tightroping so we’re just going to play for the next several months. Play with designs, play with the characters, try new things, maybe go too far on some things and pull back. The process is really important to find where the right line is so we can land right on it. I think that’s what can dig out the properties full potential for a cinematic rebirth.”

As for whether he’s taking any inspiration from the 1987 Dolph Lundgren-headlined Masters of the Universe movie, Chu had the following to say: “I don’t really think about the 80s movie when looking at this movie because the script here is so strong and so unique. I think the characters are so grounded and layered I never expected that in a Masters movie so to me it’s on a totally different level. Don’t get me wrong – I love the 80s movie for full nostalgic reasons but this script feels like it’s a totally different genre than that one.”

“My first priority right now is still G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” states Chu, when asked about a potential start date for Masters. “We are finishing the dimensionalizing of the film and I want the audience to be blown away by the 3D work we do in it so that takes a lot of my time and energy currently. It’s a lot of technical and creative stuff put together which I love. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve done, finally!”

G.I. Joe Retaliation sees the return of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra players Channing Tatum (Duke), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Lee Byung-hun (Storm Shadow), Arnold Vosloo (Zartan) and Jonathan Pryce (The US President) , while franchise newcomers include Dwayne Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) as Roadblock, Bruce Willis (The Expendables 2) as Colonel Joseph Colton, Elodie Yung (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Jinx, D.J. Cotrona (Dear John) as Flint, Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights) as Lady Jaye, Ray Stevenson (Thor) as Firefly, Stephen Martines (General Hospital) as Cross-Country, RZA (American Gangster) as Blind Master, Eddie Hargitay (The Superagent) as Tunnel Rat, Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) as Mouse and Walton Goggins (The Shield) as Warden Nigel James.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in the UK on March 27th ahead of a North American release on March 29th.

Originally published October 18, 2012. Updated April 10, 2018.

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