Here’s Why A ‘Transformers’ And ‘G.I. Joe’ Crossover Movie Hasn’t Happened Yet
In the pages of comic books, theTransformersandG.I. Joefranchises have crossed over for many adventures sincefirst meeting in 1987. So why haven’t we seen the Autobots team up with the Real American Heroes on the big screen? Wouldn’t that be like printing money?
While making the publicity rounds for the upcomingSnake Eyes: G.I. Joe Originsmovie arriving in theaters this weekend,TransformersandG.I. Joefilm franchise producerLorenzo Di Bonaventuraexplained why an epicTransformers G.I. Joecrossover movie hasn’t happened yet. However, it sounds like it could be a possibility in the future.
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura recently spoke withUproxxaboutSnake Eyes, which sounds like it’sgoing to be another disappointmentin theG.I. Joefranchise. Even after years of dead-endG.I. Joemovies and overlongTransformerssequel, fans have still expressed interest in seeing both franchises together on the big screen. But for some reason, Paramount Pictures hasn’t ever been on board. Di Bonaventura said:
“You know, the truth of matter is, the studio has always been against that. Every regime that’s been at Paramount is against it because it’s taking two franchises and making them one, but I think it’s inevitable.”
In interview, Uproxx reporter Mike Ryan talks about the possibility of another crossover betweenJurassic ParkandFast and Furious, an idea that our own Chris Evangelista was gettingpsyched about back in 2017. More recently, the idea has gained traction with fans, and it’s something that franchise director Justin Linhasn’t ruled out.
As silly as it sounds, that kind of wild crossover would make crazy amounts of money, and it could be a great time in theaters. So what is Paramount’s hold-up withTransformersandG.I. Joe? You can probably blame another crossover for their hesitation.
Alien vs. Predator Ruined Everything
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura proposed one arguable reason and one good reason why the studio might be leery ofTransformersandG.I. Joecrossing over:
“I just think that we haven’t run out of storytelling yet to require us to put them together in a sense. I don’t know about you, but Alien vs. Predator, in a way, besmirched both of them.”
Haven’t run out of storytelling yet? I don’t know about that. Sure, there are plenty of avenues from bothTransformersandG.I. Joethat haven’t been used on the big screen yet. But doesn’t it seem like fans have been losing interest? This would be the perfect way to shake things up and bring in fans of bothTransformersandG.I. Joetogether.
However, theAlien vs. Predatorexcuse is a valid one. Both of theAlien vs. Predatorfilms are cinematic toilet paper, and they’ve left a stain on each of the franchises involved. But let’s not forget how much fans enjoyed the lunacy ofFreddy vs. Jason. At the end of the day,TransformersandG.I. Joefeel like two franchises that would work extremely well together. TheTransformersfranchise basically already had its own version of aG.I. Joesquad with characters played by Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson.
Director Steven Caple Jr. Could Make It Happen
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura said theTransformers G.I. Joecrossover movie is something that gets brought up a lot. The producer said, “It comes up almost every single time we start to debate what the next script is in either one of them. Then it gets pushed aside and then it’ll come up again.” In fact, the most recent mention came from director Steven Caple Jr., who is directing the upcomingTransformers: Rise of the Beasts. Di Bonaventura explained:
“Steven Caple, who’s directing Transformers right now, is a huge G.I. Joe fan, too. And he was like, ‘Why aren’t you doing that?’ Everyone was like, ‘Well, attempt to make a Transformers movie really good. Then we’ll talk about that.’ Maybe Steven will be the one to crack through because he loves them both so much.”
Steven Caple Jr. will be the second director afterBumblebeefilmmaker Travis Knight to tackle a live-actionTransformersmovie after Michael Bay wrapped up his tenure on the franchise withThe Last Knightin 2017. Since he’s introducing a whole new side of theTransformersworld withBeast Warscharacters entering the fray, it’s not out of the question to think he could bringTransformersandG.I. Joetogether. Meanwhile, we’re waiting for aFast and FuriousandTransformerscrossover, which has the potential to give us double the Tyrese Gibson.
