When Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ ending last summer revealed G.I. Joe’s existence in the Transformers live-action universe, fans were foaming at the mouth at the thought of what a possible crossover between the legendary Hasbro franchises could look like. There’s been a ton of movement on the film in that time, from who would be writing it to who’s potentially starring in the project. Now, with San Diego Comic Con officially underway, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Chris Hemsworth has given fans an update on the G.I. Joe x Transformers film.
Is the ‘GI Joe’ x ‘Transformers’ Crossover Still Happening?
Earlier this year it was reported that Hemsworth was in talks to star in the potential G.I. Joe x Transformers film. When Collider‘s Steve Weintraub what progress had been made on the film at his Producers on Producing panel at SDCC, di Bonaventura stated:
We are definitely in the process of figuring out how to integrate G.I. Joe and Transformers. We’re in the creative process. We really have not discovered the key to that yet because one of the difficulties with it is there are so many characters that you feel you have to service, and when you do that, you never really deliver any good characters. So the trick here is to figure out how do you combine these two worlds with the least number of people or robots? That’s where it’s a big trick that we’re trying to figure out. So, we’re working with that.
This is not too different to what he has said in the past, and the producer went on to add that plans were in the works for a G.I. Joe solo film as well:
“We do intend to bring back G.I. Joe, a standalone. We’ve created a complication for ourselves because we just did the animated movie, and to our wonder and to our real happiness, because there are no human characters in the animated movie, the characters of the robots are so much more sophisticated around it. They cost too much in live-action, so we’re always trying to figure out how few words we can get from that, whereas, the animation is all the same. So, we’ve set a third problem for ourselves here, which is now the audience would be disappointed if we return to the same level of characterization we’ve had up to now.”
Collider‘s Taylor Gates also had the chance to catch up with Hemsworth on the red carpet at SDCC to ask him about how the project is progressing:
We’ve had an early conversations about it, and about what the world has to offer, and I think there’s some really fun opportunities to expand the universe. Nothing official yet, it’s been in early creative discussions. But who knows? We’ll see. I love this experience. I loved working with Lorenzo Bonaventura and Paramount, I worked with Paramount years ago. But Lorenzo I’ve known for a lot of years and he’s just such a great creative partner.
If it does become official in the future, the Marvel star is no stranger to the Transformers‘ universe as he will be voicing Optimus Prime in Transformers One this September. SDCC has already made a big push for that animated film at its panel on Thursday, which is set in the same continuity as the live-action films. It just takes place hundreds of years before the first film. In addition, the crossover recently received a writer in Derek Connolly. He’s previously worked on major franchise films like Jurassic World, Detective Pikachu, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Kong: Skull Island. As for di Bonaventura, he’s been a producer on all the live-action Transformers films, Transformers One and the various live-action G.I. Joe adventures. Both series have had a rocky history in live-action, with the recent Snake Eyes being arguably a low point for G.I. Joe. However, with Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts, maybe Transformers’ positive momentum will rub off on G.I. Joe. The latter of which had Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz being recruited at the end of Rise of the Beasts. Fans have seen the Transformers and G.I. Joe Brand crossover in the comics, but this is uncharted territory for Hasbro.
When is ‘G.I. Joe x Transformers’ Releasing?
There’s no release date or window for G.I. Joe x Transformers yet, as the crossover is still in the very early stages of development. Hopefully, by the end of the year, once Transformers One has been fully promoted and released, fans will get more clear insight on that front. For now, we have a lot to look forward to with Transformers One releasing on September 20, 2024, at the heart of the franchise’s 40th anniversary. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is also currently streaming on Paramount+ alongside every live-action G.I. Joe mission.
via Collider