How Transformers Can Re-Introduce G.I. Joe Movies In the Best Way

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ended with the massive reveal that the Transformers live-action movies are crossing over with G.I. Joe, with both franchises co-existing in the same universe. While that sounds like a dream come true for every kid who was a fan of 1980s cartoons, there are some understandable concerns about G.I. Joe will be re-imagined for a movie universe where Transformers’ Cybertronian technology is a reality on Earth. It could easily get ridiculous – but, Transformers could also provide the perfect pathway to a movie version of G.I. Joe that actually makes a lot of sense. 

At the moment it’s easy to see why G.I. Joe fans are a bit trepidacious about where the franchise is headed next. Fans have been burned three times now: by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009; the equally lackluster sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation in 2013, and the dead-on-arrival reboot Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins in 2021. Now the franchise wants to make a comeback by literally riding the backs of Autobots and Decepticons, which will be the most fantastical take on the franchise yet in live-action.

More to the point: there are many fans who saw Transformers: Rise of the Beasts star Anthony Ramos (Noah Diaz) get the climatic power-up of having his Autobot buddy Mirage sacrifice his body to create an armored suit for Noah to fight in. That sight instantly conjured the bad memory of Rise of Cobra’s infamous “Accelerator Suits” that Channing Tatum’s Duke and Marlon Wayans’ Ripcord wore to combat Cobra terrorists in Paris. It’s the kind of concept and design that could suddenly become commonplace in a G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover. 

Or, things could go another way… 

How Transformers Can Finally Make G.I. Joe Movies Work

None of the G.I. Joe movies have really gone down the path of directly aping the ’80s cartoons – with understandable reason. The ’80s version of G.I. Joe saw the worldwide paramilitary force and their COBRA rivals battling it out across the globe using the most advanced weaponry and vehicles on earth. Fans not only embraced those fantastical sci-fi elements – they embraced the idea of battles with red and blue lasers flashing all over the battlefields (no bullets in a kids’ cartoon), or the crazy vehicle concepts that became bestselling and/or iconic merchandise (see: Cobra H.I.S.S. tanks). 

When Rise of Cobra tried to implement the more sci-fi elements of G.I. Joe into a live-action film it felt weird and out of place, as director Stephen Sommers and the creative team tried to create their own aesthetic for the franchise’s sci-fi elements – while Retaliation tried to go with an even more “grounded” approach of more real-world military tech, which also didn’t go over well with fans. 

Transformers and their alien tech finally create a path for the actual ’80s G.I. Joe cartoon to be directly adapted to the screen – colored lasers, classic sound effects, and all.  By the end of the crossover, the presence of the Transformers could be the origin story of how a military group gets the advanced technology that finally brings the G1 G.I. Joe cartoon into live-action. Similarly, if alien robots are on the table, elements like Cobra’s genetically-engineered overlord Serpentor are also viable options.

After seeing how the most recent Transformers movies (Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts) have paved over Michael Bay’s films with a vision more in line with the cartoons, there’s reason to be hopeful those same creators can do the same with G.I. Joe. A long history of Transformers/G.I. Joe comic adaptations also provide a creative foundation to be hopeful about. 

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now in theaters.