According to IESB, Mummy series helmer Stephen Sommers knows something, and “knowing is half the battle!” That’s right, Paramount Pictures has offered Sommers the chance at making a live action G.I. Joe movie. With characters like Cobra Commander and Serpentor, GI Joe has the potential to be an fun accessible army action film like never seen before.

Sommers wouldn’t be my first (or second, or third…etc) pick as director, as I’ve genuinely hated most of his later films (Deep Rising, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing). But I always stuck up for The Mummy, which was a fun but slightly cheesy action/adventure film. Sommers is capable of making a good action film. This is the type of movie which needs to be handled with care, because if something is done poorly in any any of the usual departments, it will kill the whole movie. Cast is key. They need a good ensemble cast to play the signature group of characters. I’m betting that Sgt. Slaughter is probably too old to play himself in this one (which is probably a good thing). They also need to watch out how much patriotism they jam onto the screen. If they don’t get the dosage right it could piss of core conservative fans. If they put too much patriotism, it could scare off everyone else. Patriotism in large doses can be pretty scary. If done right, this could be the next Transformers (sans giant robots…). If done wrong, it could come off as a long inforercial for the U.S. Army.

Sommers has been actively developing a big screen adaptation of Edwin Balmer’s When Worlds Collide. But now there is no word on what will happen to that project. I’m guessing that since it was still in the screenplay phase, it may be kept in development while Sommers tackles Joe.

G.I. Joe started in 1942 as a WWII military magazine comic strip. In the mid-60’s the character became a series of military-themed 12″ articulated action figures produced by the Hasbro toy company. The company later relaunched the action figure line in a smaller, 3 3/4-inch scale in the early 80’s. A comic book and animated television series followed. Over the 1980s, G.I. Joe’s increasing popularity supported an array of spin-off merchandising that included posters, t-shirts, video games, board games, kites, animated movies, and an ongoing animated series.