Confirmed: Stephen Sommers to Direct G.I. Joe Movie

Hear that? That’s the sound of fanboys everywhere screaming at the latest news regarding the G.I. Joe movie. And yeah, it’s news that is going to drive them bonkers, alright, because The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Stephen Sommers has, in fact, been hired by Paramount Pictures to direct the live-action G.I. Joe movie despite previous reports to the contrary. To be honest with you, I don’t know what everyone is getting all nuts about here. It’s a movie based on a TV show about a bunch of guys in army fatigues who fights other guys wearing snake headgear. I mean, come on, how could ANYONE mess this thing up — and how could you tell if he did?

While “Joe” toys have been around for decades, the movie will be based on the toys launched in the 1980s, which were also tied to a Saturday morning cartoon and comic book series. It is this version that saw the soldiers fight a terrorist group called Cobra, led by the Cobra Commander, and featuring villains like metal-faced Destro, master-of-disguise Zartan and biker gang Dreadnoks.

On the good guys’ side were heroes such as the mute ninja Snake Eyes and the fetching heroine Scarlett.

Expect a quick start-up production date to beat the impending writers strike.