John Carter repercussions? G.I. Joe: Retaliation delay reportedly due to poor testing
by Doc on May.30, 2012, under Movies
Could John Carter be causing other studios to turn a more critical eye on their big budget actioners? It seems that way, with Paramount pushing back the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation by 9 months. The studio’s original claim was to make a 3D version, but not many bought that as the sole excuse. And now it seems that there is a lot more behind the delay.
Despite having started the marketing ball rolling months ago, and getting all the merchandise in place for the original June 29th release date, it appears that poor testing results on the film has them looking at it again, to the point they may want to completely rework the story.
One item appears to be the plan to kill off Duke Hauser at the beginning of the film. Hauser is played by Channing Tatum, who is suddenly seen as a big box office draw. Killing him off early would mean seriously limiting his draw for the film. Of course, delays and re-shoots are going to cost more – more money for Paramount to potentially lose if it doesn’t solve the problem – and as John Carter showed – let the public know they’ve solved the problem.