Dwayne Johnson in Talks to Join G.I. JOE: COBRA STRIKES; Paramount Scratches STAR TREK 2 from Summer 2012?

While some stars feel the need to have franchises begin and end with them, Dwayne Johnson doesn’t have those reservations.  He signed on to Fast Five and ended up co-starring in one of the year’s biggest hits as a result.  Now he’s turning his eye towards joining Jon Chu’s G.I. Joe sequel, now titled G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes.  Deadline reports that Johnson is in talks to play Roadblock because I guess the call sign “Big Muscular Man” was too obvious.  Channing Tatum is likely to return but that isn’t too surprising since we previously learned that only Duke, Storm Shadows (Lee Byung-hun), and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) would be the only returning characters (although I don’t see how you do a movie called Cobra Strikes without Cobra Commander).

Deadline also mentions that G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes has become a higher priority for Paramount since they’ve had to scratch Star Trek 2 from their summer 2012 schedule.  There’s no official word yet from Paramount on this front, but even J.J. Abrams, should he return to direct, has said he wants to get the sequel done right rather than done fast.  G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes is currently set for August 10, 2012.