ROTTEN TOMATOES: A New Destro for Sommers' G.I. Joe

A New Destro for Sommers' G.I. Joe

Murray's out; Eccleston's in.

by Jeff Giles | February 13, 2008

The cameras are rolling on Stephen Sommers' live-action G.I. Joe adaptation -- but they're going ahead without David Murray, the actor who was set to play the villainous Destro.

As tipped by IESB -- and since confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter -- Murray fell victim to visa problems en route to the Joe set, and was forced to withdraw from the film, leaving Sommers with a Destro-shaped hole in his big-budget tentpole.

Briefly, anyway. Also reported by IESB (and, yes, confirmed by the Reporter) is the identity of Sommers' new Destro: Christopher Eccleston, known to confirmed Whovians as the ninth Doctor Who -- and known to fans of NBC's Heroes as the misanthropic Invisible Man.

And speaking of G.I. Joe and IESB, the site is offering fans the chance to ask Joe guru Larry Hama questions -- and have him respond. Check the third link for details on Hama's upcoming Q&A!

Source: IESB
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Source: IESB (Hama Q&A)

Related Items

Movie:	Heroes Season 1
Celeb:	David Murray
	Christopher Eccleston
	Stephen Sommers

(1-16 of 16 posts) | Reply

terry kits writes:
on Feb 13 2008 05:16 AM

I hope this G.I.JOE movie will be good.

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John Z. Delorean writes:
on Feb 13 2008 06:09 AM

As long as Major Bludd, Xamot and Tomax, and the crimson guardsman are in cobra's cast of characters I could care less about Destro.

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LordVapor writes:
on Feb 13 2008 08:14 AM

There has to be a destro....I agree with Delorean, that it would also be better if the cast of evildoers also included the above names..

Cobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

LordVapor writes:
on Feb 13 2008 08:15 AM

But I believe that there has to be a destro...From what I heard there will be no Cobra Commander, so there has to be a destro.....

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cypress550 writes:
on Feb 13 2008 08:33 AM

without a destro this wouldnt be a g.i. joe movie a good one anyway

(Reply to this)

Astr0creep writes:
on Feb 13 2008 09:28 AM

Christopher Eccleston as Destro...

WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Feb 13 2008 09:30 AM

Mixed feelings: I actually kind of like Eccleston (from Heroes, mostly), but this reeks of last minute 'Quick, who is there within a 500 mile radius who DOESN'T have visa problems?!'

Oh, well. This movie is already in my 'I'll BE VERY SURPRISED IF IT DOESN'T SUCK' category-- see previous rants about what the GIJOE acronym stands for and the casting of Marlon Wayans...

(Reply to this)

opTIMus Nerd writes:
on Feb 13 2008 10:27 AM

No Cobra Commander?! That's like having Star Wars without a Darth Vader. Destro is cool; will he have the giant silver head? That might look weird in movie land...Not that it matters I STILL cannot see anything but the Jean Claude Van-Damm Streetfighter movie when I try and wonder what this movie will look like. Except Raul Julia won't be here to play Cobra Commander.

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Astr0creep writes:
on Feb 13 2008 10:30 AM

I'm pretty sure CC will show up at the end of the film in a "OMG-DESTRO-WASN'T-THE-REAL-BADDY" moment.

After all, the producers want this to be a new film franchise.

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sharpless writes:
on Feb 13 2008 10:47 AM

At least he has a Destro-shaped head.

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Feb 13 2008 11:28 AM

That sucks for Murray, but I'm happy, I really like CC and it makes me look forward to this more.

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bigbrother writes:
on Feb 13 2008 12:16 PM

GI Joe without Destro would be like Transformers without Starscream. I can't believe A. there are VISA problems for an actor in GI Joe. Come on guys he's not a terrorist he just plays one on TV and B. That this guy would let that stop him. Come on show some commitment 12 Million Mexicans had the stones to come across the border to work for a lot less than what you're earning Mr. Murray so hop a plane to Jaurez, hire a coyote and get your *** in this movie.

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Sputnik99 writes:
on Feb 13 2008 12:17 PM

In a recent interview Dennis Quaid (General Hawk) said that he had never heard the names Tomax and Xamot, so I doubt that they're in the movie. Kind of a shame, but when you think about it, a first movie can't cram everyone into it.

It would be absolute lunacy for the movie to ignore Cobra Commander, so I wouldn't worry about it.

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punktuate writes:
on Feb 14 2008 05:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#1571873)
hey Dougray Scott was supposed to play Wolverine but got hurt on the the set of Mission Impossible 2 and we got kick *** Hugh Jackman so maybe it was just in the cards dude

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ChubeyRules! writes:
on Mar 06 2008 10:07 PM

Well, if you follow the comics, Cobra Commander didn't come into play right away. (Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander; before becoming Cobra Commander; were outcasts from Vietnam... started a crime spree until CC killed some innocents, hence Snake Eyes going into isolation in Japan, Queu Storm Shadow and the Ninja's... whole new MOVIE!... uba GIJOE NERD!) Great seguway to a sequal. I'm sure the story will introduce Cobra Commander in a way that will want us wanting more.

(Reply to this)

ChubeyRules! writes:
on Mar 06 2008 10:10 PM

Well, if you follow the comics, Cobra Commander didn't come into play right away. (Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander; before becoming Cobra Commander; were outcasts from Vietnam... started a crime spree until CC killed some innocents, hence Snake Eyes going into isolation in Japan, Queu Storm Shadow and the Ninja's... whole new MOVIE!... uba GIJOE NERD!) Great seguway to a sequal. I'm sure the story will introduce Cobra Commander in a way that will want us wanting more.

(Reply to this)