On a typical Tuesday morning in mid-August, the entrance to Hughes Aircraft in Burbank was crowded with reporters. However, these weren't aviation reporters—they were entertainment journalists active in Hollywood and the Los Angeles area.
Since its split and acquisition in the 1980s, the Hughes Aircraft facility in Burbank had little connection to aviation beyond its name. Thanks to the huge hangars and workshops, it had become a favorite spot for Hollywood studios to build sets and shoot films. Countless productions had filmed there, and the facility had transformed into a Hollywood filming base.
For example, Iron Man and G.I. Joe both set up shop here.
In Hollywood, it's typical to follow the road to success, and G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation had chosen to base its operations at Hughes Aircraft again. Most of the interior scenes would be shot there.
News of Matthew officially joining the cast had already been spread by Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, so today, a large number of reporters had gathered outside.
Since arrangements had been made beforehand, Matthew stepped out of his car at the entrance to the facility and gave a brief interview to the journalists.
"My character is very interesting. To play him, I had to understand his background—why he joined G.I. Joe, what his role is, and so on," Matthew said to the cameras. "Duke is one of the most popular characters in the G.I. Joe series, so I've returned for the sequel. I personally relate to Duke because he's righteous and has an easy connection with the audience."
Finally, he added, "I'm thrilled to be back in this massive fictional universe."
After finishing the interview, Matthew headed straight into Hughes Aircraft, making his way to the office where the G.I. Joe 2 crew was based.
In a small conference room, he met with director Stephen Sommers and the two producers representing Paramount and Hasbro, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner.
After exchanging greetings and small talk, Lorenzo and Brian excused themselves, leaving Matthew alone with Sommers.
In the production hierarchy, Stephen Sommers was the lead producer, with Matthew next in line, followed by Lorenzo and Brian, who acted more as overseers than decision-makers when it came to the filmmaking process.
After Paramount and Hasbro's attempt to replace Sommers had been thwarted by Matthew's intervention, their attitude toward the director had done a 180. Apart from adding the two overseeing producers, they had also granted Sommers considerable creative control.
After all, with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra being a huge success, the best course of action was to continue along the path of success, especially if a cheaper director couldn't be secured.
Besides, everyone knew that when it came to this series, Matthew and Stephen Sommers were on the same team.
"You're not just the lead actor, you're also one of the producers," Sommers remarked, not holding back his slight frustration. "But you haven't visited the set in months."
Matthew spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I've been incredibly busy, like a spinning top, ever since the start of the year."
Stephen Sommers deliberately teased, "Seems like I've seen plenty of your gossip in the tabloids."
"Uh…" Matthew found himself at a loss for words and chose to change the subject. "I've responded to all the work emails you've sent me."
Sommers chuckled but got serious again. "I've seen them. Your feedback was very solid." He paused before adding, "We also turned down the suggestions from Hasbro and Paramount. They weren't happy about that."
Matthew nodded slightly. "They were overthinking things, completely out of touch with reality."
"I suspect that after the trilogy, we'll be out," Sommers mused. "Those suggestions, I hear, originated from Jon Chu and had a lot of backing from Hasbro and Paramount executives."
He sighed. "Matthew, without you, I wouldn't have been able to hold the line."
"The success of the movie reflects on our reputations," Matthew shook his head. "I really don't understand what Paramount was thinking, wanting to add more realism to a sci-fi action movie based on toys. They wanted Duke and Flint to start practicing martial arts? That's just ridiculous!"
Just as Sommers had said, Hasbro and Paramount hadn't completely given up on Jon Chu. Earlier in the year, they had suddenly proposed several suggestions for the film.
Of course, it wasn't so much a suggestion as it was an expectation that Sommers would implement them.
The suggestions fell into two main categories: First, they wanted to incorporate more martial arts into the action choreography for key characters like Duke, to make the fights more visually appealing. Second, they insisted that the film be more grounded in realism, with everything based on real-world military tactics and less of the fantastical elements that had defined the first movie.
Both of these ideas were flatly rejected by Matthew and Sommers.
For one thing, the suggestions were contradictory. They wanted more realism while simultaneously adding exaggerated martial arts choreography for American soldiers. It was self-defeating.
This was a sci-fi movie set in a fictional universe—anything could be justified, but flashy martial arts really didn't fit.
Since both Matthew and Sommers resisted the ideas, the suggestions were ultimately scrapped.
"By pushing back on the studio's ideas, I've had to compromise in other areas," Sommers added. "Paramount suggested casting Channing Tatum as Flint. What do you think?"
Matthew responded casually, "As long as he's a tough guy and not some pretty boy."
He recalled some military movies where the soldiers looked more like fashion models than real combatants—no muscles, just smooth skin. The idea made him cringe. If soldiers looked like that, the entire country would be in trouble.
Sommers handed him a photo. "I've met him in person. He's definitely got the muscles."
As one of the producers, Matthew had significant influence over casting decisions. He glanced at the photo and found the face familiar.
"He's fine," Matthew agreed, not wanting to create too much tension with Paramount.
Sommers gave a knowing nod. "I suspect Paramount is trying to groom him as your replacement in the series."
Matthew shrugged. "That's fine. We're done after the trilogy anyway."
Sommers chuckled, acknowledging the truth of the matter. After directing the next installment, he too would be done with the series.
Looking at Channing Tatum's photo, Matthew suddenly remembered that Tatum had played Duke in the original timeline. It made sense that he was returning to the G.I. Joe franchise, only this time as Flint instead of Duke.
"There's also the matter of casting Miss Jay," Sommers said, sliding a folder over to Matthew. "These are the candidates. Have a look, so I don't have to email them to you."
He added, "If you have someone else in mind, feel free to add them to the list."
Matthew shook his head. "Let me look through these first."
Miss Jay, in the toy line's lore, was a tough female soldier with a never-give-up attitude and was known to be a fierce, skilled sharpshooter. She handled intelligence in the team and was an integral member. On the battlefield, she fought just as fiercely as her male counterparts.
According to the rules of Hollywood blockbusters, they needed to cast an actress who could embody both beauty and strength to portray the character.
Matthew and Sommers had already discussed this earlier. The role required a strong, independent woman, someone who could convincingly play a tough, capable soldier. At the very least, she needed to look smart, beautiful, and physically formidable, making it easy for the audience to accept her as part of the G.I. Joe team.
A frail, thin actress wouldn't suit the role of a strong soldier.
The folder contained not just resumes, but also photos. All the candidates had that typical Western "tough girl" look.
Rachel Nichols, an American actress who had appeared in The Amityville Horror and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Margot Robbie, an Australian actress who had just recently arrived in Hollywood from Australia and didn't yet have any major roles to her name.
Cobie Smulders, a Canadian actress primarily known for her TV work. Matthew remembered that Marvel Studios had recently signed her to a long-term contract, and she would be playing Maria Hill, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., in a series of upcoming Marvel superhero films.
And finally, Adrianne Palicki, an American actress who had played supporting roles in several TV shows and movies.
What caught Matthew's attention about Palicki was an interesting tidbit in her resume.
Her most recent role was as Wonder Woman—not in a film, but in a TV show that had only shot one episode. According to the info, the show was awaiting test screenings to determine if it would continue.
It seemed that the show had been scrapped.
"When's the audition?" Matthew asked after closing the folder.
Sommers thought for a moment. "Sometime in September." He added, "We've adjusted the shooting schedule slightly. Filming will now start in mid-November and wrap up by the end of January next year."
Matthew nodded. This didn't conflict with his schedule, as American Sniper didn't even have a finished script yet. For now, G.I. Joe 2 was his only project.
Before leaving Sommers' office, Matthew handed him an invitation. "There's a wrap party for Alice in Wonderland being hosted by Disney and Johnny Depp. If you have time, you should go."
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