We live in an era where the vast majority of tentpole releases are films based on existing properties. The drive to attach a recognizable name to a movie has even transformed toy lines into films. Sometimes this is a success, such as in the case of Transformers. And sometimes it does not, like with the G.I. Joe franchise. While that series did see two films, they were very different, as the hero of the first was killed off in the sequel. Channing Tatum admits that happened because he never wanted to make the movies in the first place.
Speaking with Vanity Fair while literally attached to a polygraph machine, Channing Tatum was asked if the decision to see his G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra character Duke killed off in the first 10 minutes of the sequel was his idea. He says it was, and the polygraph seemingly confirms it. When asked why, he explained that he only made the first G.I. Joe film because he was under contract to do so, so he jumped ship from the sequel as quickly as possible. Tatum said…
The first one I passed on seven times. But they had an option on me, and I had to do the movie. So the second one, I obviously just didn’t want to be in that one either.
It seems that contractual obligations forced Channing Tatum to make G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra so as he says, he was forced to make it. Whether he was also required to appear in the sequel or not is unclear, the writers of Retaliation were forced to do things they didn’t want, but apparently he didn’t have to do anything more than appear. So he’s there just long enough to get killed off. Tatum wasn’t the only only to bail on the sequel. Several other actors who appeared in the first, like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Eccleston, and Marlon Wayans do not appear at all in the second film, with their characters either being written out of the story or recast.
A lot of actors would likely jump at the chance to be in a G.I. Joe movie. As a major tentpole release it likely paid pretty well, and the possibility of it becoming a franchise, leading to more work and more money, was certainly there. The first movie was called The Rise of Cobra, so certainly sequels were in the plan. But apparently Channing Tatum had no interest in the project if he turned it down many times.
The first G.I. Joe movie was a moderate success, leading to the sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. That sequel didn’t come out for four years, which is a long time in the franchise film making world, and was a significant shift, as it did, in fact, kill off Tatum’s character, and it became a vehicle for Dwayne Johnson. The sequel actually made a bit more money, but wasn’t any better reviewed and ultimately it killed off the franchise.
Instead, we got something of a soft reboot of the franchise with the recent Snake-Eyes movie. The film was supposed to launch a new G.I. Joe franchise. Unfortunately, that movie didn’t really take off either, so no sequels to that have been announced.