‘G.I. Joe 3’ Has Been Indefinitely Delayed Because Dwayne Johnson Simply Can’t Stop Working
Ever since The Rock transitioned back to Dwayne Johnson and from the ring to the big screen, he’s been busier than ever. He has had some big-time roles and is continuing to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, but it’s starting to cause some problems. While it may not be an issue for him, Johnson’s busy schedule is building up havoc with some film franchises and that includes G.I. Joe 3.
Screen Rant is reporting that the third film in the franchise is going to be indefinitely delayed due to how much Johnson has on his plate. It’s not like he is just doing some small pictures, but he’s attached to a great number of big-time titles and he’s not going to pass up that kind of work.
Dwayne Johnson’s G.I. Joe co-star Byung-hun Lee recently spoke about the future of the franchise, and it seems as if there are a few obstacles in front of the third film.
“I heard from the studio that there’s a possibility to do the third one, but I think they’re waiting for the actors’ schedules. They’re arranging the schedules for the actors, especially Dwayne Johnson.”
In 2009, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra did well at the box office by bringing in $302 million from around the world. The addition of Johnson to the 2013 sequel titled G.I. Joe: Retaliation brought up the box office numbers to $375 million worldwide.
The success of that film likely came from Dwayne Johnson being in it, and it also caused the problem of what to do with continuing the franchise. Since 2013, Johnson’s popularity has only gotten that much bigger, and he has seen his workload increase as well.
As of now, he is quite busy all the way through 2019, and things don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Here is what Johnson has on his upcoming slate, and this is if nothing else is added:
- Moana – voice
- Fast 8
- Jumanji
- Shazam
- Baywatch
- Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon
Even if he signs on for nothing else new, this list alone could spawn sequels for Jumanji and Baywatch. It is almost a given that Moana will do well and Disney will surely want to bring about a follow-up film for it, and that will put Johnson even further behind.
A few months ago, Forbes revealed that Dwayne Johnson was indeed the highest-paid actor in the world for 2016. He earned $64.5 million this year which made him the highest paid for this year but number 19 overall.
Still, it’s not hard to see why his salary and workload is building up, and it’s because his movies just keep bringing in money. The Fast and Furious franchise is as successful as ever and San Andreas shockingly exploded with $473 million around the world in 2015.
Currently, he’s filming Fast 8 after completing work on Baywatch and the voice work on Moana. Soon, he will begin filming Jumanji, and there is a very good chance that he will jump aboard Shane Black’s Doc Savage movie. Shazam, in which he also stars, is scheduled for release in 2019.
It’s quite difficult to know if Paramount would be willing to move ahead with G.I. Joe 3 if Johnson can’t find time to fit filming into his schedule before 2019. Still, they may not want to wait that long to even get production started, so it’s kind of in limbo at this time.
Dwayne Johnson makes an incredible amount of money as an actor and he deserves it as his presence and talent brings in huge box office numbers for whatever movies he is in. G.I. Joe 3 is going to happen, but when? If his work ends up delaying production too much, Paramount may look to move forward without him, but that could end up bringing an end to the franchise as The Rock’s absence could cause them to lose a big portion of their audience.
[Image via Paramount Pictures]
