The idea of a crossover between two of Hasbro’s biggest toy brands-turned-film franchises,TransformersandG.I. Joe, has always been so exciting. These two have a long history of crossover in the comics, long beforeTransformers: Rise of the Beastsfinally established thatboth series exist in the same cinematic universe, but you likely didn’t realize that there were some behind-the-scenes crossovers as well. This is particularly true concerning the development of the first live-actionTransformersmovie (yes, the originalMichael Bayflick from 2007), which was originally intended to be aG.I. Joefilm early on. Here’s what happened.
A Real-Life War Turned ‘G.I. Joe’ Into ‘Transformers’
According to producerDon Murphy,Transformerscame about while he was first developingG.I. Joeinto a feature film. As the story goes, he had been trying for quite some time to getG.I. Joeoff the ground, and had finally gotten a studio on board. “I had been in conversation with Hasbro to doG.I. Joeactually, and Sony was interested in doing it,“Murphy explained in an interviewwhile on the set ofTransformers. “Then we invaded Iraq and it became kind of clear that doing a movie calledG.I. Joewas probably not the smartest idea at that point.” This would’ve been in 2003 right at the start of what would eventually be called the Second Gulf War. Of course,G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobracame out years later (before the conflict in Iraq even ended), butTransformerswas the brand that Hasbro Films wanted to see brought to the big screen first.
It took two more years to developTransformersinto a project worthy of big-budget Hollywood financing. With Michael Bayon board to direct, andSteven Spielbergset to executive produce,Transformersbecame a co-production between Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks, andG.I. Joewas left behind. But Don Murphy was only a small cog in the “Real American Hero” machine, as aG.I. Joefeature film had been in the works before he got involved and remained in development hell for years afterward. Eventually,Stephen Sommersdirected Joe’s first big-budget live-action debut, which was significantlypanned by critics and audiences alike. It was clear that Murphy was right to dropG.I. JoeforTransformers, especially since Joe continues to struggle with finding their way to the big screen.
‘Transformers’ Retained a Strong U.S. Military Presence
Interestingly though, despiteG.I. Joebeing removed from theTransformerspicture, the Autobots' first live-action adventure featured a fairly significant U.S. Military presence anyhow. Characters likeJosh Duhamel’s Captain William LennoxandTyrese Gibson’s Sgt. Roger Ebbs were featured prominently in the original film, and ended up becoming recurring staples of the franchise that outlasted evenShia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky. “Michael [Bay] has a relationship with the military,” Murphy explained when asked about the military’s role in the film. “It’s really that simple and they’ve approved the script and have been excited about the project since we started shooting. The first week we shot on Air Force bases.”
But why make the military a part of a movie all aboutgood robot aliens fighting bad robot aliens? Well, because Michael Bay thought it would help emphasize the tone he was aiming for. “That’s why the military involvement was very important, that we make it very real and credible,“the filmmaker told us at Collider back in 2007. For Bay, adding a military presence was paramount to the film’s success. After all, as his liaison at the Pentagon once told him, “Well, y’know, if aliens do land, I mean the US military should be involved…” According to Bay, at the time,Transformerswas the largest cooperation between the United States Armed Forces and a major Hollywood production, and he pushed to make sure that the heroes back home knew there was a mutual respect there. Hopefully,the upcomingTransformers/G.I. Joecrossoverwill be able to embellish that a bit more.
Transformers
An ancient struggle between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons brings their war to Earth. Teenager Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf, buys his first car, which turns out to be the Autobot Bumblebee. As Sam and his friends join forces with the Autobots, they must prevent the Decepticons from obtaining the powerful AllSpark and destroying humanity.
Transformersis available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Watch on Paramount+
