Paramount Would Be Smart To Build A ‘Transformers’ & ‘G.I. Joe’ Cinematic Universe

With Bumblebee currently in theaters and a Snake Eyes prequel film on the way, it seems pretty clear that Paramount is essentially using prequels to hit the reset button on both the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises. And with both of them having a bit of clean slate moving forward, could Paramount be building up a crossover between the two franchises? Because if they’re not planning on it, they’re nuts and definitely should be. Both of these franchises are “prime” with crossover potential (which has been done numerous times in the comics) that would very likely be a major cinematic event at the box office.

Though neither would likely be considered huge hits at the box office, the last two live-action G.I. Joe films were far from failures. I’d say that the $302M worldwide made by The Rise Of Cobra and $375M brought in by its sequel Retaliation show that there’s definitely audience interest there. As for the Transformers franchise? Well, that series has grossed a combined $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office currently with Bumblebee looking to likely add a few hundred million more when it’s all said and done. The two Hasbro franchises combined have so far earned Paramount north of $5.1B at the worldwide box office.

Though, if Paramount does decide to go this route, they should be sure to learn the mistakes made by other attempted cinematic universes. Start slow and build to it. Don’t try and jump right into this directly after a few films and definitely don’t do whatever the hell Universal tried with Dark Universe. The foundation is essentially already there for them to build off of with Sector 7, an agency that they could use to tie the franchises together somehow. Sadly, it’s too bad they already used John Cena because he’d have been an excellent Duke in future G.I. Joe films. Or could he still?

There’s been some fan speculation online that Agent Burns could really be an alias of Conrad “Duke” Hauser. And while it is in a different location than usual, it is fairly interesting that the character received a scar in the film. But this is simply speculation currently, with Cena even commenting that “in a world of universes colliding, I think this [Transformers & G.I. Joe] is a perfect match. Whether I’m in it or not, I hope to see it.” For the time being though, this is simply speculation. But speculation that kind of makes sense if the studio decided to pursue these options.

And if you’re someone that for some odd reason thinks that these two wouldn’t go together like peanut butter and chocolate, may I present to you 2011’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. The biggest box office hit of the series worldwide gives a slight blueprint for how the franchise could work together when you look at the bits featuring Sector 7 and the Autobots teaming up to go after Shockwave or even the entire third act minus Sam Witwicky’s scenes. Before Bumblebee hit theaters, this was actually my favorite of the series and kind of the perfect “summer blockbuster”. It was big, it was fun and it was action-packed. Now, the series does clearly need better scripts and direction than this film offered but it gives a slight idea of what a Transformers & G.I. Joe film could potentially look like on the big screen.

To say there’s some insane potential here for Paramount and Hasbro might be a bit of an understatement. In an age of franchises and Cinematic Universes, the two properties offer a plethora of directions for the studio who is in dire need of some franchises. On one hand, they have the highly-successful Mission: Impossible series. But on the other? They have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which saw a sequel that made about half of what the first did at the box office numbers drop in half and a fourth Star Trek film that just got shelved. There’s really only so much they can rely on How To Train Your Dragon at the end of the day. For the time being, we’re going to have to wait and see what they’ve got planned. But it really does feel like a missed opportunity if they don’t decide to pursue this one. Let us know your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.