Jon M. Chu must be a busy man these days, what with putting the finishing touches to the delayed action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, as well as prepping another 80s toy adaptation in Masters of the Universe, but the director has found the time to offer fans an update on both projects:
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“I really want to push how we use the 3-D," Chu tells MTV Geek, with regards to G.I. Joe, which was of course pushed back from this summer to a 2013 release in order to convert the movie into 3D, as well as reportedly increasing the screen time for Channing Tatum's Duke. "I really want to push how we use the 3-D... I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I’m in that room, watching. It’s hurting my eyes, but we’re getting it better, and pushing it further... I’m trying to convince [Paramount] to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements but as of right now, we’ll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3-D to give it that edge… But we’ll see if time permits, and they’re down to do that."
Moving on to the live-action He-Man adaptation and Chu revealed that he's busy putting the final touches to the screenplay, as well as expressing his excitement at being able to bring the world of Eternia to the screen: "Masters of the Universe means so much to a lot of people out there – and myself as well. I don’t want to disappoint my friends! We all grew up with Masters, played with the toys… I had a Castle Grayskull, played with the toys, I had a Battle Cat. We’re just designing now, going to far on some things, pulling back on others… Making it more real, or more fantastic. We’re trying to find that line as we go.
"A lot of people ask, who are you going to cast? We’re not even there yet, we’re just trying to get the character of the movie down. This is one of the most fun parts, where all the possibilities are open, and we’re just playing in the sandbox," states Chu, who admitted that he'll be drawing on "all iterations of the franchise" for inspiration, including the recent DC Comics title. "Right now, I’m just soaking it all in. Learning, watching, listening, reading a lot. Any blogs that are out there, or people who have opinions. I’m just soaking it in, and feeling what the environment is in this world. I know what I personally feel about Masters, but there is something to be said for experiencing what other people experience in the world."
G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits cinemas this coming March, with Channing Tatum joined by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra veterans Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Lee Byung-hun (Storm Shadow), Arnold Vosloo (Zartan) and Jonathan Pryce (The US President), while new recruits include Dwayne Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) as Roadblock, Bruce Willis (A Good Day to Die Hard) 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 (The Man with the Iron Fists) as Blind Master, Eddie Hargitay (The Superagent) as Tunnel Rat and Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) as Mouse.
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“I really want to push how we use the 3-D," Chu tells MTV Geek, with regards to G.I. Joe, which was of course pushed back from this summer to a 2013 release in order to convert the movie into 3D, as well as reportedly increasing the screen time for Channing Tatum's Duke. "I really want to push how we use the 3-D... I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I’m in that room, watching. It’s hurting my eyes, but we’re getting it better, and pushing it further... I’m trying to convince [Paramount] to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements but as of right now, we’ll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3-D to give it that edge… But we’ll see if time permits, and they’re down to do that."Moving on to the live-action He-Man adaptation and Chu revealed that he's busy putting the final touches to the screenplay, as well as expressing his excitement at being able to bring the world of Eternia to the screen: "Masters of the Universe means so much to a lot of people out there – and myself as well. I don’t want to disappoint my friends! We all grew up with Masters, played with the toys… I had a Castle Grayskull, played with the toys, I had a Battle Cat. We’re just designing now, going to far on some things, pulling back on others… Making it more real, or more fantastic. We’re trying to find that line as we go.
"A lot of people ask, who are you going to cast? We’re not even there yet, we’re just trying to get the character of the movie down. This is one of the most fun parts, where all the possibilities are open, and we’re just playing in the sandbox," states Chu, who admitted that he'll be drawing on "all iterations of the franchise" for inspiration, including the recent DC Comics title. "Right now, I’m just soaking it all in. Learning, watching, listening, reading a lot. Any blogs that are out there, or people who have opinions. I’m just soaking it in, and feeling what the environment is in this world. I know what I personally feel about Masters, but there is something to be said for experiencing what other people experience in the world."
G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits cinemas this coming March, with Channing Tatum joined by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra veterans Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Lee Byung-hun (Storm Shadow), Arnold Vosloo (Zartan) and Jonathan Pryce (The US President), while new recruits include Dwayne Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) as Roadblock, Bruce Willis (A Good Day to Die Hard) 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 (The Man with the Iron Fists) as Blind Master, Eddie Hargitay (The Superagent) as Tunnel Rat and Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) as Mouse.
