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After 14 years, Channing Tatum has come forward to reveal that he hated starring in 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Participating in a lie detector test for Vanity Fair, Tatum revealed that he tried to avoid acting in the movie but was ultimately forced to star in the Paramount tentpole. When the sequel came out, Tatum asked to be killed off within the first ten minutes.
“The first one I passed on seven times, but they had an option on me and I had to do the movie,” Tatum said. “So the second one, I obviously just didn’t want to do that one either.”
Tatum played Duke, a character that has been an integral part of the international organization since its start in comic books and on television in the early 1980s. He has been their field commander through hundreds of adventures. Along the way, he’s been captured, tortured, and impaled by a snake. Yet, no matter the danger, he has recovered to lead generations of recruits.
This isn’t Tatum’s first time expressing his thoughts about G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2015, the actor told Howard Stern that he hated the movie and thought it had a bad script. He also shared that he didn’t want to be G.I. Joe. Instead, the actor wanted to play Snake Eyes.
“Look, I’ll be honest. I f***ing hate that movie. I hate that movie,” said Tatum.
“I was pushed into doing that movie. From Coach Carter, they signed me to a three-picture deal…They give you the contract and they go, ‘Three-picture deal, here you go.’ And as a young [actor], you’re like, ‘Oh my god, that sounds amazing, I’m doing that!’ Time goes by and you get other jobs and you’re building your quote and you have a dream job you want to do. And … the studio calls up and they’re like, ‘Hey, we got a movie for you, we’re going to send it to you.’ And they send it to you, and it’s G.I. Joe.”
Tatum continued, “And I love G.I. Joe, ‘Can I play Snake Eyes?’ And they’re like, ‘No, you’re not playing Snake Eyes, you’re playing G.I. Joe.’ The script wasn’t any good… And I didn’t want to do something that I… was a fan of since I was a kid and watched every morning growing up — and didn’t want to do something that was, one, bad and, two, I just didn’t know if I wanted to be G.I. Joe.”
The Rise of Cobra earned negative reviews from critics but managed to gross just over US$300 million at the worldwide box office. The sequel, headlined by Dwayne Johnson, performed better with US$375 million worldwide. The franchise took a shot at a revival in 2021 with the release of Snake Eyes with Henry Golding in the titular role, but it only earned a dismal US$40 million worldwide.
Thankfully for Tatum, his involvement in the G.I. Joe franchise did not hold back his career. Since then the actor has appeared in numerous films from romance The Vow to comedies 21 Jumpstreet and action-drama White House Down. Though, most people would also know him from Magic Mike.
Released in 2012, Magic Mike – unlike G.I. Joe – was fairly successful and spurred two more sequels. The third movie Magic Mike’s Last Dance will be the final instalment in the series.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance starring Channing Tatum hits the big screen on 10 February 2023.
Don’t judge a book by its cover, for behind all this makeup, is a geek just like you. To simply put it, superheroes, Star Wars, Harry Potter and all things gore and creepy makes this girly girl swoon.
The Baroness
