Before I dive into the main topic of this week’s opening paragraph, just a quick disclaimer that the Top 5 will be taking a week off next Saturday to accommodate the first, and perhaps only, trip to Hawaii I will ever take. Here’s to hoping it’s less awkward but equally as life-changing and Kristen Bell/Mila Kunis-filled as Forgetting Sarah Marshall depicted. That said, while it fell just short of the cut this week, I still want to draw attention to the first trailer for director Adam Wingard‘s You’re Next that debuted on Thursday. As a horror fan, I’m always excited when a new entry in the genre gets lauded from both sides of the aisle (horror fans and those who aren’t as giddy about movies that make them think twice about turning out the lights). As far as I’m concerned, August 23rd can’t get here soon enough.

All Hawaii and horror fanboy talk aside, this week’s list offers up the first trailer(s) for The Wolverine, interviews with Dwayne Johnson and more for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the first trailer and posters for White House Down, a new red-band trailer for Pain & Gain, and The Host interviews with Saoirse Ronan and more. As you’re probably expecting, a brief recap and link to all of the above can be found after the jump.

Even though we’re nearly three months removed from Halloween, I want to use this week’s opening paragraph to throw some support behind director Michael Stephenson‘s touching documentary, The American Scream. I recently caught the film via Netflix where it’s available to “Watch Instantly” and I was impressed to say the least. Stephenson’s previous entry, the indelible Best Worst Movie, quickly became one of my all-time favorite docs for the unexpected emotional punch it packed in following the lives of those impacted by Troll 2. Scream delivered on a similar level with its themes of family, community, and the pursuit of one’s passion (in this case, home haunting). If you haven’t seen it already, I recommend either checking it out on Netflix or picking up a copy for yourself from the film’s website.

All recommendations aside, much to the surprise of no one, this week’s Top 5 is headlined by the announcement that J.J. Abrams will direct/produce Star Wars: Episode VII with accompaniment by our Bullet to the Head set visit, Warm Bodies video interviews with Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and more, a G.I. Joe: Retaliation set visit preview and interviews with director Jon M. Chu and more, and all of our coverage out of Sundance 2013 to date. A brief recap and link to each is hidden in plain view after the jump.

I want to send a big “Thank You” to my colleagues Matt, Adam, and Dave for inviting me to be a part of our new podcast, The Collision, last week. I had an excellent time chatting it up with Matt and Adam and I give those guys and Dave a ton of credit for using what might otherwise be well deserved time off (i.e. Sunday nights) in the name of continuing to offer our readers additional original content. In case you missed it, I encourage you to click here to listen to Episode 4 and click here to add The Collision to your RSS feed.

In this week’s Top 5, you’ll find a slew of new assets for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, video interviews with Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and more for The Five-Year Engagement, the first images from Django Unchained, a stellar first trailer for Lawless, and a recap of all of our CinemaCon 2012 coverage. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

Paramount has released a new trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation that reveals more of the story and showcases some really cool action that’s been amplified by some great looking CGI.  While I was in the minority for liking the first G.I. Joe movie, I’ll admit the new trailer looks like a huge step forward for the franchise and the casting of Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock and Bruce Willis as the original Joe seems like it’s going to pay off in a big way at the box office.  Hit the jump to check out the new trailer which features London getting hit by a Cobra missle.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens June 29 and also stars Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, RZA, Ray Stevenson, and D.J. Cotrona.

Last week, nine character posters from the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation debuted.  We got up close and personal looks at Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki and more, and today the final character poster has gone online alongside a brand new international poster.  The last character revealed is Flint, played in the film by D.J. Cotrona.  We’ve also have a nifty international poster to share that features Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) flanked by the very intimidating Willis and Johnson.  The central theme of these posters seems to be that the cast of G.I. Joe: Retaliation is not to be messed with.

Hit the jump to check out the posters, and be on the lookout for the new trailer that debuts tonight at midnight PST.  Directed by Jon M. Chu, G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens on June 29th.

I generally don’t like to check out extended clips of footage from films ahead of their release. Call me old fashioned but, similar to how I try and avoid cherry picking music singles before listening to the entire album, I like to think of records and movies as complete bodies of work. Of course, I say all of this only to preface breaking my own general rule. I implore you to watch the first 12 minutes of writer/director/actress Brit Marling’s Sound of My Voice. I did, I don’t regret a single moment of it, and now I can’t wait to check out the entire film as soon as possible.

All self-contradiction aside, in this week’s “Top 5″ installment you’ll find Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance interviews with talent like Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, and directors Neveldine/Taylor, a recap of our 21 Jump Street set visit, trailers and a featurette for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Transformers 4 news, and Avengers, Star Wars, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation toy images from the 2012 Toy Fair. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

Over the weekend, we showed you some of the new G.I. Joe toys that will hit the market to coincide with the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  However, those images lacked the novelty of the stars of the movie playing with the toy versions of themselves. Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona, and director Jon Chu stopped by the G.I. Joe booth at Toy Fair, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Bruce Willis, Channning Tatum, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, RZA, Joseph Mazzello, Elodie Yung, and Walton Goggins also star in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, scheduled for release on June 29, 2012.  Hit the jump for the images.

Continuing on with the barrage of Super Bowl spots landing online today is the 30-second preview for G.I. Joe: Retaliation. I’ll admit I had absolutely zero interest in seeing this movie; that is until the first trailer was unleashed. Though I know relatively little about the Joe universe, Retaliation looks incredibly cool. This Super Bowl spot gives us a great deal of new footage, including a look at Cobra Commander, as well as some eloquent Jay-Z citation by Dwayne Johnson. I’m fairly certain the overriding theme of Retaliation is simply “badass.” In addition, we’ve got a few images of the movie tie-in action figures set to be released in anticipation of the sequel.

Hit the jump to check out the Super Bowl spot and action figure images. The film also stars Channing Tatum, Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona, and Bruce Willis. G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens June 29th.

The first trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation lands on Monday, but a glimpse of footage from the film is now online. The action pic is a follow-up to 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and stars Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis. While I’m trying to reserve judgment until the full trailer is online, this footage doesn’t look promising. It features plenty of explosions and a couple of groan-worthy one liners. The sequel is a bit of an overhaul from the first film, as many of the characters from the 2009 feature don’t return and Jon Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) takes over the director’s chair.

Hit the jump to check out the footage, and be sure to check back Monday for the full trailer. The film also stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, RZA, Joseph Mazzello, Elodie Yung, and Walton Goggins. G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation opens June 29, 2012.

Shortly after this awesome image of Dwayne Johnson in the desert, we saw a few images of Johnson with Adrianne Palicki and D.J. Cotrona on the set of G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation. The trio—playing Roadblock, Lady Jaye, and Flint—appear to be a tight-knit team in the movie.  New footage from the set shows Johnson, Palicki, and Cotrona together on location at the beach.  In between shooting, the actors spoke a bit about their characters.  Johnson calls Roadblock “the glue of the G.I. Joes.”  (Also, “a BAMF.”)  Palicki says Lady Jaye is “the intelligence of the group.”  And Cotrona… well, Cotrona is only asked about co-star Channing Tatum, who reprises his role as Duke in the sequel.

RZA (Blind Master), Ray Stevenson (Firefly),  Joseph Mazzello (Mouse), Walton Goggins (Warden Nigel James), Elodie Yung (Jinx), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), and Byung-hun Lee (Storm Shadow) also star, while Bruce Willis is on board as the original Joe.  Jon Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) is directing the June 29, 2012 release.  Hit the jump for the clip of interviews and behind-the-scenes-footage.

Dwayne Johnson is apparently an avid Twitter user. A couple months ago we got our first look at the actor in character as Roadblock in G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation via his Twitter account, and today he’s given us another look at him in character through a photo and a video he shot onset. It’s not much, but he teases a major action sequence being shot near him. Furthermore, you might be able to spot a familiar face from the Collider community in the set photo.

Hit the jump to check out the image and video. Directed by Jon Chu, the film also stars Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, RZA, Joseph Mazzello, Elodie Yung, and Walton Goggins. G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation opens June 29, 2012.

Earlier this month, we got our first look at Dwayne Johnson in character as Roadblock on the set of G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, and now some new set photos have surfaced featuring Johnson, Adrianne Palicki and D.J. Cotrona. Directed by Jon Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never), the follow-up to the less-than-stellar first film features an almost entirely new cast, with Johnson playing Roadblock, Palicki taking on Lady Jaye and Cotrona set as Flint. Channing Tatum (Duke), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), and Byung-hun Lee (Storm Shadow) are the only actors reprising their roles from the first flick, with RZA (Blind Master), Joseph Mazzello (Mouse), Elodie Yung (Jinx), and Walton Goggins among the other new additions, as well as Mr. Bruce Willis who is in talks to play the original Joe.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos. G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation opens June 29, 2012.

Thanks to Dwayne Johnson using Twitter, we’ve got our first look at Roadblock in director Jon Chu’s (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation.  He posted the image this morning as the production just started filming.  His tweet:

1st day of shooting. 110 degrees. Bring It.

While many of you weren’t on board with the first G.I. Joe movie, I thought it was a lot of fun and what I always thought a live-action Joe movie should feel like.  Saying that, it looks like Paramount listened to the chorus, as almost the entire cast has been replaced with new actors.  But when you land Johnson, Walter Goggins, and Bruce Willis, you won’t hear me complaining.  Hit the jump for the full picture and cast list.  G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation hits theaters June 29, 2012.

After The Shield signed off in 2008, Walton Goggins set off on the path to become one of the great character actors in genre fare.  Justified is the most notable example, highlighted by the recent Emmy nomination.  But Goggins’ is starting to pepper his resume with supporting roles in big summer blockbusters (at least by intention) like Predators and Cowboys & Aliens.  Next summer will follow suit now that Paramount has signed Goggins for a role in G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation.  According to Variety, Goggins will play Warden Nigel James.  Goggins is one of several new cast members in what has become more reboot than sequel—Dwayne Johnson (Roadblock), Adrianne Palicki (Lady Jaye), RZA (Blind Master), D.J. Cotrona (Flint), Joseph Mazzello (Mouse), and Elodie Yung (Jinx) are confirmed, while Bruce Willis is in talks to play Joe himself.  Channing Tatum (Duke), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), and Byung-hun Lee (Storm Shadow) will reprise their roles from the original.

Director Jon Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) will start shooting later this month in New Orleans, working from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland).  G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation is scheduled for release on June 29, 2012.

Bruce Willis is in negotiations with Paramount to join the cast of G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation. If the deal goes through, Heat Vision reports that Willis will take on the role of General Joe Colton, the man responsible for forming the original strike team in the comics (hence the name). Although I have little knowledge of the comics or Joe’s portrayal in them (a statement that probably negates my next line), I can’t help but feel as if Willis would be a piece of perfect casting for the part. He has the action/adventure chops needed to make the character believable without sacrificing the element of fun I remember gathering from the original cartoon.

If Willis joins, he will take part in a cast that already includes Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Ray Stevenson (who is playing the villain Firefly), Adrianne Palicki, Lee Byung-hun, D.J. Cotrona, and Ray Park. Jon Chu (Never Say Never) is directing the pic for Paramount. G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation will begin shooting in New Orleans later this month with its June 29, 2012 release date in mind.