Is GI Joe still a viable property in 2024?

[CharlesPhipps]

Exactly what the title says.

GI Joe is a work that I absolutely loved in the Eighties and was always thinking could be just as big as the Transformers but the reboot really derrailed itself. The Rise of Cobra wasn't terrible but blowing up London kind of makes our heroes look incredibly ineffectual, ruins the bad guys as complete monsters, and kind of prevents any future works set in the property from being "our" world.

Oh and they killed the entire cast of the first movie, which is most of the most beloved Joes.

There's also the fact that a bunch of US Special Forces vs. Terrorists gets a bit more side eye, not necessarily because it's a bad premise but because we experienced a couple of decades of that so it's not exactly the light escapist fair that it used to be.

So, how would YOU redo GI Joe if at all possible?

[Thebestoftherest]

Could focus more on them being almost a men in black like agency.

[BBally81]

There was a GI Joe show were Cobra used cooperate businesses to take control of a huge part of the world while GI Joe became a renegade team on the run trying to expose Cobra's plans.

[CharlesPhipps]

There was a GI Joe show were Cobra used cooperate businesses to take control of a huge part of the world while GI Joe became a renegade team on the run trying to expose Cobra's plans.

Yep, though that didn't go over well with classic Joe fans even if I liked the A-Team element.

[Nealithi]

Exactly what the title says.

GI Joe is a work that I absolutely loved in the Eighties and was always thinking could be just as big as the Transformers but the reboot really derrailed itself. The Rise of Cobra wasn't terrible but blowing up London kind of makes our heroes look incredibly ineffectual, ruins the bad guys as complete monsters, and kind of prevents any future works set in the property from being "our" world.

Oh and they killed the entire cast of the first movie, which is most of the most beloved Joes.

There's also the fact that a bunch of US Special Forces vs. Terrorists gets a bit more side eye, not necessarily because it's a bad premise but because we experienced a couple of decades of that so it's not exactly the light escapist fair that it used to be.

So, how would YOU redo GI Joe if at all possible?

GI Joe of the eighties and in the comics was predominantly a counter to Cobra, who never seemed to have a great unifying concept to them. But we had a television show that I think does follow some of the concept. Agents of Shield. Small team of specialists taking on the machinations of a group willing to use anything to further their quest for 'power'. No matter how poorly they execute those plans, they are still dangerous. Our heroes have access to some interesting gadgets, but they have to be careful how they use them. And try to remain hidden.
"Remember that anti-matter blackhole that almost swallowed Miami?"

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

I mean the psa’s could probably be updated for the more informed generation.

[stryke]

I'm going to go with no.

If only that I watched the most recent Transformers movie recently, on the basis that I had Paramount+ anyway and figured I'd give it a go to see if it was any better without the Bay. At the end the human gets a card recruiting him to GI Joe, and once I'd finished cracking up at how dang funny that attempt at a sequel hook was, I was amazed I'd genuinely gone unspoiled on that.

Without even trying I'd heard about the similar cameo at the end of the Marvels within the first couple of days and I was not at all engaged in that discourse. In a similar vein I probably could tell you the entire plot of Madame Webb and that'd be purely through passive internet osmosis.

Which suggests to me no one really cares in the slightest for the GI Joes these days.

Saying that if we could get a show based on this interpretation as a workplace comedy I'd be more than down for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPEHM38_DA

[Thebestoftherest]

I think Snake eyes is, but the rest of them not so much

[CharlesPhipps]

I'm going to go with no.

If only that I watched the most recent Transformers movie recently, on the basis that I had Paramount+ anyway and figured I'd give it a go to see if it was any better without the Bay. At the end the human gets a card recruiting him to GI Joe, and once I'd finished cracking up at how dang funny that attempt at a sequel hook was, I was amazed I'd genuinely gone unspoiled on that.

Without even trying I'd heard about the similar cameo at the end of the Marvels within the first couple of days and I was not at all engaged in that discourse. In a similar vein I probably could tell you the entire plot of Madame Webb and that'd be purely through passive internet osmosis.

Which suggests to me no one really cares in the slightest for the GI Joes these days.

Saying that if we could get a show based on this interpretation as a workplace comedy I'd be more than down for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPEHM38_DA

I think the movies are particularly fantastic examples of how NOT to handle a property because the thing was that I actually enjoyed the first movie despite its many mistakes but then you suddenly kill off THE ENTIRE CAST and replace every single actor in the film with no character development moving from between them.

Save Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

You can't do that and keep any sort of audience investment.

[sayla0079]

I'm going to go with no.

If only that I watched the most recent Transformers movie recently, on the basis that I had Paramount+ anyway and figured I'd give it a go to see if it was any better without the Bay. At the end the human gets a card recruiting him to GI Joe, and once I'd finished cracking up at how dang funny that attempt at a sequel hook was, I was amazed I'd genuinely gone unspoiled on that.

Without even trying I'd heard about the similar cameo at the end of the Marvels within the first couple of days and I was not at all engaged in that discourse. In a similar vein I probably could tell you the entire plot of Madame Webb and that'd be purely through passive internet osmosis.

Which suggests to me no one really cares in the slightest for the GI Joes these days.

Saying that if we could get a show based on this interpretation as a workplace comedy I'd be more than down for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPEHM38_DA

I think the movies are particularly fantastic examples of how NOT to handle a property because the thing was that I actually enjoyed the first movie despite its many mistakes but then you suddenly kill off THE ENTIRE CAST and replace every single actor in the film with no character development moving from between them.

Save Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

You can't do that and keep any sort of audience investment.

Exactly look what happened with the live-action Jem movie. They threw out everything people loved about the orig cartoon alienating those fans.