G.I. Joe: Retaliation “Cobra Flag” Screen Print by Anthony Petrie

Gallery 1988 was commissioned by Paramount Pictures to create a promotional image for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the new G.I. Joe movie that debuted last weekend, and artist Anthony Petrie created this incredibly iconic image that was also turned into a beautiful screen print! If this looks more like a photograph than a screen printed poster you’d be right. Anthony actually created a Cobra American flag from scratch and then photographed it to create the print. And yes, the red and white stripes do form the Arashikage clan’s logo. This image is seriously epic!!!

Paramount only made 100 of these G.I. Joe: Retaliation  "Cobra Flag" 18″x24″ prints created and The Blot has no idea how you can get your hands on one. If you figure it out, let me know! Rumor has it you can snag one by keeping tabs on Facebook.com/CobraSpecialForces.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D Character Movie Posters

A live action G.I. Joe movie starring The Rock as Roadblock should be a slam dunk for one of the biggest movies of the summer! Instead, G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in two weeks to end the month of March. Not sure even the inflated price of 3D tickets can help this one. Has anyone heard anything good about the film yet? The Blot keeps waiting for a legit review, but I still haven’t seen any. And with the film premiering in just two weeks that means this film’s probably still a dud. But The Rock and Snake Eyes battling ninjas is still a recipe for success to me!

These two new G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D character movie posters just recycle old still shots of Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock and Ray Park as Snake Eyes with new, high tech backgrounds. Honestly though, these are way better than the original set of character movie posters set in the desert. So I’ll give Paramount that!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (aka G.I. Joe 2) invades theaters on March 29, 2013.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Cobra Propaganda Movie Posters

There was a time, almost a year ago, when The Blot was really excited for the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Then news spread like wildfire about how bad the film was, and then Paramount made the unorthodox decision to push G.I. Joe 2 back to March 2013 (in order to reshoot parts of the film) even after already spending millions on its promotion last summer. While that move was probably a good thing for the movie, it completely destroyed my interest in the property and really hurt Hasbro’s ability to sell G.I. Joe toys. If the toy line wasn’t dying already, these past two movies may have been the franchise’s death knell.

We’re now two and half weeks away from the premiere G.I. Joe: Retaliation and I haven’t heard anyone excited about it finally being released. Not even a larger role for Channing Tatum’s Duke can save this movie. How does a film with Tatum, Bruce Willis and The Rock fall apart like this? Anyway, here are two pretty cool COBRA propaganda one sheet movie posters for the film. They might be the coolest part of Retaliation. I’m still cautiously optimistic G.I. Joe 2 turns out to be a good film, but I’m expecting the worst.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation storms theaters on March 29, 2013. Yo, Joe!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D Final Movie Poster

So Paramount just realized its final one sheet movie poster for G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D, but sadly it’s basically the same poster we’ve seen before. The only difference? There’s “3D” in the movie’s title now and they’ve added Channing Tatum to the G.I. Joe roster on top. Does this mean his character Duke will actually play a more significant role in the film now? Who knows...but what I do know is they want to use his newfound star power as much as possible to market Retaliation. Like Bruce Willis and The Rock weren’t enough?

It sounds like this movie had more problems with its story than with its stars. And I’ve yet to read a review of the film’s new cut. That’s probably not a good sign! But like a sucker, this film will probably still be getting The Blot’s money. What can I say, I love G.I. Joe. Yo, Joe!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (aka G.I. Joe 2) invades theaters on March 29, 2013.

“New” G.I. Joe: Retaliation Trailer

So the marketing of the actual release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation this spring has moved into high gear with the release of its first full trailer for its second release date. Everyone keeps talking about how new this trailer is, but it looks almost identical to the trailer we saw almost a year ago. I haven’t studied it that closely, but you’d be hard pressed to point out more than a few seconds of new footage. It’s ok because The Blot’s always liked this trailer, but why is everyone kissing up to Paramount acting like this is really a new trailer. This film better be good or it’s going to be the death of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe franchise.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (aka G.I. Joe 2) storms theaters on March 29, 2013.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D’s New Movie Poster

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is back, and this time it’s in 3D! Ok, I don’t care what Paramount and Hasbro say, this film was not pulled from last summer’s schedule after the Super Bowl ad, the constant marketing and the release of its corresponding toy line just so they could retrofit it into 3D. I don’t care how much extra money even the worst 3D conversion brings in because there’s no way it can be enough to justify how embarrassing it must have been for all parties involved to pull G.I. Joe: Retaliation from the 2012 summer schedule at the last minute.

All signs point to G.I. Joe: Retaliation being terrible, which is really disappointing because The Blot was really excited about it. I loved all of Retaliation’s trailers and even their movie posters weren’t terrible. This new one sheet for the movie’s re-scheduled release is actually pretty nice as well. I just hope all the reshoots means more of Channing Tatum’s Duke (*SPOILERS* - after numerous reports say the franchise's star exits from the storyline early in movie) and a better overall story. If the rumors are true and this film stinks can a few reshoots really save it?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (aka G.I. Joe 2) storms theaters on March 29, 2013.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation International Movie Posters

The marketing team behind Hasbro’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation have done an amazing job making some pretty cool looking international movie posters from the same 6 stock photos. Why such a big budget movie couldn’t get its graphic designers more still shots of its stars is beyond me! But they definitely made some legit movie posters with not a lot to work with. Now to be completely honest, I have no idea where these posters are from. All I do know is they’re not in English, so they’re international to me! What’s really weird about this first poster is it’s pretty much an exact replica of a poster from the first film, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, but with a new cast of characters (see the original here). Neither poster is really all that special, so it’s weird they replicated for sequel.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation storms into theaters on June 29, 2012.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Character Movie Poster - D.J. Cotrona as Flint

Last Friday when the internet was bombarded by G.I. Joe: Retaliation character movie posters The Blot questioned where was the Flint one sheet!?! D.J. Cotrona (who will be portraying G.I. Joe’s popular warrant officer Flint in the live action film) has been featured prominently in the movie’s trailers so far, but was a no show last week when G.I. Joe 2’s character movie poster set was finally unveiled. Thankfully this was just an oversight and now we’ve got this pretty bland poster of D.J. as Flint. I guess beggars can’t be choosers! Regardless, I’m really looking forward to finding out whether Cotrona’s Flint will be romantically linked to Adrianne Palicki’s Lady Jaye in the film, since these two characters are almost always linked in the various incarnations of G.I. Joe comics and cartoons. 

See the rest of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation Character Movie Poster Set 1 here. G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Character Movie Posters

Yesterday the internet was bombarded with exclusive looks at G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s first set of character one sheet movie posters. The Blot’s been wondering for a few weeks now why no posters for the film had been released and then BAM! nine different character posters show up. I guess if you’re finally going to release a set of posters for a big summer blockbuster you’ve gotta go big, and the marketing team behind G.I. Joe: Retaliation definitely went big with this set.

Character movie poster sets are often pretty boring, but the team behind G.I. Joe 2 did a great job picking out photos for these one sheets. I have to give them credit, other than a few boring duds (Duke and Joe Colton), these are actually pretty cool looking. I’m especially loving Roadblock, Jinx, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow’s poses in these posters with Roadblock and Jinx’s being the most intriguing. Plus, we get our very first full look at the new Cobra Commander. Boy is this a huge improvement over the character’s look in the first film!

I’m also glad to see Channing Tatum’s Duke got a poster because based on the film’s trailers there has been heavy speculation that his character is killed off in the film’s opening scene. I’m hoping that’s not the case, but clearly he has not been featured in much of G.I. Joe 2’s marketing to date and after a huge 2011/2012 it’s arguable that Tatum is the film’s 2nd biggest star after Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (sorry Bruce Willis). My only question now is, where is Zartan’s poster!?!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Character Movie Poster Set 1 features Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock, Channing Tatum as Duke, Bruce Willis as General Joe Colton, Byung-Hun Lee as Storm Shadow, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, Ray Park as Snake Eyes, Faran Tahir as Cobra Commander, Elodie Yung as Jinx and D.J. Cotrona as Flint.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation First Look: Elodie Yung as Jinx

The newest still image to be released in conjunction with the marketing of this summer’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is of Elodie Yung as Jinx! The Blot’s always been a huge Jinx fan, starting with her debut in the 1987 animated film G.I. Joe: The Movie. A month later she would make her debut in the Marvel comic book and the rest is history. Jinx has never been a hugely popular G.I. Joe character, but she always seems to pop back up eventually in every iteration of the franchise. After making a brief appearance in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Jinx is ready to take center stage in G.I. Joe: Retaliation as the film explores the history of the Arashikage ninja clan.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation First Look: Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock

The next G.I. Joe: Retaliation still image to hit the web is of the film’s star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock. Roadblock was always one of The Blot’s favorite G.I. Joe characters from the ‘80s cartoon and comic book series. Sadly at some point in the late '90s Hasbro decided to replace Roadblock with Heavy Duty, but for the life of me I could not figure out why. I guess it worked out then that it was Heavy Duty, and not Roadblock, in the horrible G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. This allowed Roadblock to take center stage in what is starting to look like a good movie, G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation First Look: Ray Park as Snake Eyes

So G.I. Joe: Retaliation has finally started releasing some still images of its cast and first up is fan favorite Snake Eyes (played by Ray Park). While Snake Eye’s overall look in the first film was spot on, his helmet was pretty much hated by everyone because of the molded lips. Why would they do that for a character known for not speaking? Seems like a Michael Bay move to me! It ranks right up there with the nipples on Batman’s uniform in Batman and Robin as one of the stupidest costume decisions ever. Thankfully they got it right this time by dropping the lips and amping up the cool! It’s just too bad they didn’t go with this look from the start. For those of you keeping score at home…that makes it G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - 0, G.I. Joe: Retaliation - 1.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

First Look: Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye G.I. Joe: Retaliation Action Figure

Since her Wonder Woman pilot never took off, I guess the next best thing for Adrianne Palicki to do is play Lady Jay, everyone’s second favorite female G.I. Joe member, in this summer’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation. While I’m sure Palicki will make a great Lady Jay, her 3.75” action figure from Hasbro is pretty lackluster especially compared to all of the other figures in this toy line. Shouldn’t Palicki have had to cut her hair to accurately portray Flint’s main squeeze? What are your thoughts on G.I. Joe 2’s sole female character?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

First Look: RZA as Blind Master G.I. Joe: Retaliation Action Figure

If you haven’t been able to tell by now, The Blot is really excited about G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Hasbro's corresponding Real American Hero scale toy line! Why? Because we’re getting very cool, super articulated 3.75” action figures of actors like Bruce Willis, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Yes the RZA is getting his own G.I. Joe action figure! Come on, that’s pretty freaking cool. Who’s next, Method Man?

The only downside to this toy is the head sculpt isn’t as useful for customizing Wu-Tang era RZA figures. Although I’m sure some talented artists are already working on a way around that beard. RZA will be portraying the Blind Master, who in the world of G.I. Joe: Retaliation is one of the Arashikage ninja masters who taught Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow and his protégé Jinx.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

First Look: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock G.I. Joe: Retaliation Action Figure

I’m not 100% sure of this, but I’d be willing to bet the most anticipated figure in Hasbro’s upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation toy line is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock. Roadblock has always been one of the most popular characters in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero universe, and it was travesty he wasn’t included in the first live action movie. My only question…what the hell is this figure holding in its hand? Is that a weapon or a dustpan?

Thankfully Hasbro rectified that by not only including him in Retaliation, but making him the focal point of the film. It also doesn’t hurt that they cast Johnson in the role. Maybe not a perfect casting decision, but I love the decision nevertheless. Plus, he’s going to look awesome next to everyone’s Sgt. Slaughter figures! I can’t wait to see some custom The Rocks made from these 3.75” scale figures.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premier in theaters on June 29, 2012.

First Look: Bruce Willis as Joe Colton G.I. Joe: Retaliation Action Figure

Without a doubt the biggest surprise to come out of the first trailer for Hasbro’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is the inclusion of Bruce Willis in the film as the original G.I. Joe, Joe Colton! It seriously blew my mind when Willis appeared right at the end of the film’s very first trailer, and of course Hasbro has to release an action figure of Willis as Joe Colton in the Real American Hero 3.75” scale. Is this perfect or what!?!

Now you can have John McClane fight along Snake Eyes and all of your favorite G.I. Joe characters. I just hope Hasbro smartens up and release a barefoot variant at Comic-Con! I honestly did not purchase a single toy for 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but there are already a number of action figures I’ll def be picking up this time around.

First Look: SDCC 12 Exclusive Jinx G.I. Joe: Retaliation Movie Action Figures

In one of the strangest promotion moves I’ve ever seen, Hasbro decided to unveil its San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Exclusive 3.75” G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero action figure in February! This is 5-6 months earlier than normal, but who is The Blot to complain! While we don’t know many details, we do know this year’s SDCC exclusive will be Jinx (Kim Arashikage played by Elodie Yung) from this summer’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation (i.e. G.I. Joe 2). The Blot’s a huge Jinx fan, so I’m excited to see her get the spotlight as this summer’s RAH Comic-Con exclusive. As always there will be two versions available, the Standard Edition Red Jinx and the even rarer Variant White Edition.

Like with all SDCC Exclusive 3.75” G.I. Joe action figures, these will definitely sell out and probably fetch some high dollars on the secondary market. So if you think you may want one of these awesome figures start setting up a Comic-Con 2012 mule now!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Super Bowl Ad

Every time I see a new G.I. Joe 2 trailer all I can think is “why didn’t they do this with the first movie!?!” If you took the story, director and actors of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and added a few of the characters from the first film I truly believe you’d have the perfect live action G.I. Joe movie. I haven’t even seen it yet, but all you need is more Duke and some Scarlett to make every G.I. Joe fan’s dream come true. At least this time they got Cobra Commander and Zartan right (have you seen the Zartan action figure yet?).

My only complaint with this film is the weird billing for G.I. Joe 2. Have you noticed the website and all of the trailers have it starring Byung-Hun Lee with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson? Really??? How does Byung-Hun Lee get top billing over Willis and The Rock? From the two trailers I’ve seen so far, this seems to be The Rock’s film with some awesome ninja scenes mixed in. But what do I know?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation storms theaters on June 29, 2012.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation First Official Trailer

Here it is, the world’s first look at G.I. Joe 2! As a little kid in the ‘80s, G.I. Joe was hands down my favorite toy line. I couldn’t get enough of those 3.75” action figure and cheesy cartoon…and I still can’t! While the first film wasn’t great (actually it was pretty horrible), I still liked it for nostalgic purposes. Thankfully G.I. Joe: Retaliation looks more like what I had hoped the first movie would be…lots of action, ninjas, a Cobra Commander with a helmet and chrome faceplate, and Roadblock!

While I hate the fact that Scarlett is M.I.A. and Duke looks to have a reduced role, how can you hate on a G.I. Joe live action movie that features Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Flint, Lady Jaye, Jinx and Storm Shadow so prominently!?! I’m sure I’ve already said too much, so before I give away the entire first official movie trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation go watch it for yourself!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to premiere in theaters June 2012.