Matthew Fox wants to be GI Joe

January 17, 2008 - Aussie actor Sam Worthington had been a reported contender to play the lead role of "Duke" in Paramount's G.I. Joe movie, but it now appears that's no longer the case.

LatinoReview.com reports -- and IGN has also heard -- that Worthington's schedule shooting James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar ultimately could not accommodate G.I. Joe. So who is in the running to play Duke now? According to Latino Review, Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Sunshine), Matthew Fox (Lost, Vantage Point), and Channing Tatum (Step Up, Supercross) are the three frontrunners for the role.

Tatum, 27, is arguably the least well known of the three actors. The up-and-comer had been set to star in Oliver Stone's Vietnam drama Pinkville until the writers' strike grounded that project. He'll next be seen in the Iraq War drama Stop Loss, Battle in Seattle (starring Charlize Theron), and Fighting, opposite Terrence Howard.

Evans, 26, is already known to fanboys for his turn as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films; no word yet if he is cast in G.I. Joe what that means for that franchise. If Christian Bale is willing to balance two ongoing franchises with Batman and the next Terminator perhaps Evans can do the same.

At 41, Fox is the oldest of the three rumored contenders and his participation in G.I. Joe could be the trickiest and least likely. Lost was only shooting episode 8 of the current season when the writers' strike halted production in November. Fox's first obligation is to the TV series, so even if the strike ended next week and the writers went back to work on Lost, he might not be able to commit to a long film shoot such as G.I. Joe before production resumes on Lost.

What could be more likely is that Fox is up for the role of Hawk, which could be a smaller role (and for an older actor) that could require less of a commitment from him.

From: movies.ign.com

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