Just to be fair: The Official "Marlon Wayans is Ripcord" Thread

[mr. peasant]

It has been done in Hollywood for a while now. Most famous example would be Pacino playing a Cuban refugee in Scarface. So Ryan reynolds or Jason Lee as Shipwreck isn't such a stretch especially considering the wit and levity we've come to expect from a Shipwreck character. So you could lend that some credence. Ripcord is caucasian and at no time during the comics or tv show do I recall him being a joker. That was always Alpines job. Wayans (Besides being a second rate actor who makes makes dreadful movies completely unfunny and annoying as hell. Just my opinion.) would have been better suited for that role. But my final argument is, why make a rather obscure character a completely diffent race?. No sense. Like I said before, If the studio is putting in second string characters like Heavy Duty and not Roadblock why not Static line (who just happens to be a black paratrooper) whom with almost no one is familiar with and let Wayans use him as a vessel for his brand of Funny?.

Heavy Duty isn't a second rate character, at least not in recent years. In the more recent adaptations of G.I. Joe (particularly Sigma 6 and the CGI movies), he's replaced Roadblock. Speculation is that Heavy Duty was brought in as replacement due to issues regarding using the Roadblock character in these mediums (with further speculation that the same problem applies to this movie).

As for why they're changing the race of an obscure character, it should be obvious. They wanted to reinvent a character (more than just the nationality), example such as in terms of personality and role. In which case, they probably figured it would've been better doing it to a relatively unknown character as opposed to an established one. Imagine the backlash that would have occurred if Wayans had been cast as Lady Jaye.

 

[Hotwire]

Heavy Duty isn't a second rate character, at least not in recent years. In the more recent adaptations of G.I. Joe (particularly Sigma 6 and the CGI movies), he's replaced Roadblock. Speculation is that Heavy Duty was brought in as replacement due to issues regarding using the Roadblock character in these mediums (with further speculation that the same problem applies to this movie).

As for why they're changing the race of an obscure character, it should be obvious. They wanted to reinvent a character (more than just the nationality), example such as in terms of personality and role. In which case, they probably figured it would've been better doing it to a relatively unknown character as opposed to an established one. Imagine the backlash that would have occurred if Wayans had been cast as Lady Jaye.

Keep in mind that with the JoeReloaded series, Doc is a woman.

 

[Bug-Eyed Earl]

Keep in mind that with the JoeReloaded series, Doc is a woman.

In the same announcement from IESB that announced Wayans as Ripcord, the guy mentioned he had heard Topher Grace was up for the role.

I think that with Ripcord, they simply looked at a wider ranges of ethnicities since he's a more obscure character and written the most differently from the original.

BTW- in the script, Ripcord isn't that obnoxious. He kicks ass effectively, doesn't do any nonsense like screaming in a battle, and despite LDB's description of him as Duke's buddy that Duke has to save, he actually saves Duke more often, who he's intensely loyal to.

In short, if I had read this before he was cast, I would have imagine a Paul Rudd or Vince VAughn TYPE from reading this.

 

[CEREBRAL....]

Which Snake Eyes are you referring to? The Original that we all know and love even though his face and throat were disfigured rescuing Scarlett? Or the One from this movie who has taken a vow of silence!. Hell son, Morgan Freemans a Good actor, why not put some tights on him and have him play Captain America or Aquaman! I've said before and I'll say it again " You can't put a cat in the oven and call it a biscuit! " With more than enough black characters in the Joe Universe to have that ******* Wayans play, Why Ripcord?. If they needed a black paratrooper then Static line is your available token especially if they're throwing in nobodys like Heavy Duty and not Roadblock. If they really needed comic relief then why not Alpine? Daredevil sucked because they strayed way off course. Kingpin should have been white. You mean to tell me that in all of Hollywood a FAT WHITE GUY COULDN"T BE FOUND!? Some things shouldn't be messed with. I.E. If it ain't broke then why fix it?!. And who the hell cares about Spawn? (A stupid fraking cross between Batman and Ghostrider because Rob Liefeld has never had an original Idea in his life!)The movie tanked because it also strayed from the known and accepted story lines and was beleagured with mostly hacktors and rubber suits. What other movie do I see going that same route? Hmmm...Good actors outnumbered by bad ones, completely unrelated and altered history and story line.... OH I KNOW! The new G.I. Joe movie!

Is “ripcord” that essential to you that he has to be play’d by a white actor? So let’s get Johnny Knoxville to play ripcord then? I can understand if the character is in the main part of the movie, but it doesn’t seem like “ripcord” would be. It’s friggin movie they change crap around all the time in movies. It should never matter the race of the actor or actress only their performance…there’s a quote you should continue to say over and over again. As long as it’s not that drastic of a change I still don’t see what the belly aching is about, and if he does a good job, I really don’t see the belly aching still existing (wait a min. yeah I do). Who cares of “spawn” or “daredevil” wasn’t good movies. I was not talking about them being good movies, I was talking about particular characters in the movie played by difference race. And you can use what ever “snake eyes” you want for my metaphor.

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

isnt Marlon Wayans the slightly gay black guy in Scary Movie?

 

[tamron]

isnt Marlon Wayans the slightly gay black guy in Scary Movie?

No, that's Shawn Wayans. Marlon is the stoner black guy in Scary Movie.

 

[terry78]

I think this has more to do with the fact that they don't want a race of a character changed than anything. I can promise you no real G.I. Joe fan gives two ****s about Ripcord, a third stringer, if that. But because Wayans is playing him suddenly he means something?

 

[CEREBRAL....]

I think this has more to do with the fact that they don't want a race of a character changed than anything. I can promise you no real G.I. Joe fan gives two ****s about Ripcord, a third stringer, if that. But because Wayans is playing him suddenly he means something?

my point exactly......i could careless if they change race as long as they do the character justice...i'm good...i think it's petty to b*tch about the race of a minor character changing handz...

 

[KenK]

I barely remember Ripcord. I could care less.

 

[Kokoryu1]

You' re right guys sorry for having an opinion. Screw it then lets just make all the characters Arab and Chinese.

 

[mr. peasant]

my point exactly......i could careless if they change race as long as they do the character justice...i'm good...i think it's petty to b*tch about the race of a minor character changing handz...

Call me weird but I wouldn't mind even if a major character's race/gender was switched around as long as the performance was bang on perfect (e.g. Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin or Dakota Fanning in Dreamer).

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

I was annoyed when Kingpin decided to become black, but I dont really care about Ripcord

 

[CEREBRAL....]

Call me weird but I wouldn't mind even if a major character's race/gender was switched around as long as the performance was bang on perfect (e.g. Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin or Dakota Fanning in Dreamer).

yea honestly it wouldnt' make a difference to me either, but to folks like "koykoryu1" you can't do that..that's creating anachary!

 

[CEREBRAL....]

I was annoyed when Kingpin decided to become black, but I dont really care about Ripcord

i didn't know kingpin DECIDED to become blk. I thought the writers thought Michael Clarke Duncan was right for the part so they gave it to him..i didnt think they sat there and was like "emmmm we need a blk actor to play kingpin....OH YEAH THAT'S IT...LET'S GET M.C.D...yeah he's blk. enough" Who else would you had suggest for the part....the last time i check'd Michael Clarke Duncan is a pretty good actor (i.e. "the green mile") but then again...according to koykoryu1..."just any old fat white actor" would of been fine...

 

[nieman]

I think this has more to do with the fact that they don't want a race of a character changed than anything. I can promise you no real G.I. Joe fan gives two ****s about Ripcord, a third stringer, if that. But because Wayans is playing him suddenly he means something?

I'm black and I don't think they should've changed Ripcord's race...even if he is a 3rd stringer. I didn't care about Michael Clarke Duncan being Kingpin because he was the right size. Sometimes I do think the performance of the actor can overpower the look, but with G.I. Joe, they are just slapping names on anyone.....it's like they are playing dart board casting. I don't hate Marlon Wayans as an actor, but its just G.I. Joe has tons of black characters that he could've played....Stalker, Big Lob, Alpine (would've been perfect), Alexander (mixed son of Destro)...he could've been an Ex-Cobra Viper that converted (not Mercer), they could've made up an entirely new character.

Like I said before, it's like they are trying to sabotage the film. At least in Transformers, they tried to keep as much similar as possible. and there were restrictions in that.

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

i didn't know kingpin DECIDED to become blk. I thought the writers thought Michael Clarke Duncan was right for the part so they gave it to him..i didnt think they sat there and was like "emmmm we need a blk actor to play kingpin....OH YEAH THAT'S IT...LET'S GET M.C.D...yeah he's blk. enough" Who else would you had suggest for the part....the last time i check'd Michael Clarke Duncan is a pretty good actor (i.e. "the green mile") but then again...according to koykoryu1..."just any old fat white actor" would of been fine...

Danny Trejo has more experience than Michael Clarke Duncan, especially in the bad guy role, so why not throw him in hey?

Michael Clarke Duncan was only chosen because he is big and bold.. A black Kingpin was not cool, I'm not racist at all, but Kingpin is a white guy with no hair, not a big massive black dude, it was a major let down.. And really, as Koykoryu1 said Hollywood COULD have found a big bold fat white actor to play Kingpin.. Hell, James Gandolfini with a bit of make up and a thin body suit on would have been a great Kingpin..

Changing the race on a minor character is insignificant, Ripcord doesnt matter, but doing it to the main villain, who is one of the biggest villains in Marvel who is actually human, thats just stupid

For the record, Michael Clarke Duncan is one of my favorite actors

 

[BurnZy]

^^ Meh. If he wanted to make a comedic army movie he should get together with Paulie Shore and make a sequel to "In the Army Now".

Or he could have done a sequel to his brothers movie...

 

[CEREBRAL....]

Danny Trejo has more experience than Michael Clarke Duncan, especially in the bad guy role, so why not throw him in hey?

Michael Clarke Duncan was only chosen because he is big and bold.. A black Kingpin was not cool, I'm not racist at all, but Kingpin is a white guy with no hair, not a big massive black dude, it was a major let down.. And really, as Koykoryu1 said Hollywood COULD have found a big bold fat white actor to play Kingpin.. Hell, James Gandolfini with a bit of make up and a thin body suit on would have been a great Kingpin..

Changing the race on a minor character is insignificant, Ripcord doesnt matter, but doing it to the main villain, who is one of the biggest villains in Marvel who is actually human, thats just stupid

For the record, Michael Clarke Duncan is one of my favorite actors

"MCD was only chosen for the part cuz of his size"!?-how do you know that exactly? And did he play the part well, or not? Why does it matter that another actor play'd more villains...good actors are suppose to be versatile, and u do realize "kingpin" is a fictitious character right..he DOESNT HAVE TO BE WHITE OR BLK...just because you're use to him in a comic book doesnt mean he can't change race in a movie..and i'm sure you are not racist, BUT to sit there and pay attention to color like that, for it to bother you so much, i just dont get, what is that!!?

Kingpin being blk in "daredevil" had nothing to do with the movie being bad. I think most of you need to realize not everything has to stay the same, we are in 2008; minorities of all kind should not always have to play just minorities parts, that bull crap....and i'm glad people like u aren't casting actors and actresses for movie rolls..

The only person to occupy the "white house" has been a white man...so should that stay the same as well?

ps: I don't think James Gandolfini would of taken the roll because he held HBO up for more money for sopranos..so what do you think he would of ask'd for - for daredevil?

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

"MCD was only chosen for the part cuz of his size"!?-how do you know that exactly? And did he play the part well, or not? Why does it matter that another actor play'd more villains...good actors are suppose to be versatile, and u do realize "kingpin" is a fictitious character right..he DOESNT HAVE TO BE WHITE OR BLK...just because you're use to him in a comic book doesnt mean he can't change race in a movie..and i'm sure you are not racist, BUT to sit there and pay attention to color like that, for it to bother you so much, i just dont get, what is that!!?

Kingpin being blk in "daredevil" had nothing to do with the movie being bad. I think most of you need to realize not everything has to stay the same, we are in 2008; minorities of all kind should not always have to play just minorities parts, that bull crap....and i'm glad people like u aren't casting actors and actresses for movie rolls..

The only person to occupy the "white house" has been a white man...so should that stay the same as well?

ps: I don't think James Gandolfini would of taken the roll because he held HBO up for more money for sopranos..so what do you think he would of ask'd for - for daredevil?

so you would be ok with a Mexican Superman, an Indian Batman, an Asian Spider-Man, an Arabic Captain America?

 

[CEREBRAL....]

so you would be ok with a Mexican Superman, an Indian Batman, an Asian Spider-Man, an Arabic Captain America?

ha ha it's funny i have heard the same statement made by the same type of people....do i need to explain the obvious or is it you have no other counterpoint so statements like this is all you have left...and the question should be direct'd towards you..i'm basically saying...minorities could play other roles MENT FOR WHT ACTOR OR ACTRESS...nobody ever said to change superman, or spider-man....plz dont insult my intelligence with this weak reply by you..

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

ha ha it's funny i have heard the same statement made by the same type of people....do i need to explain the obvious or is it you have no other counterpoint so statements like this is all you have left...and the question should be direct'd towards you..i'm basically saying...minorities could play other roles MENT FOR WHT ACTOR OR ACTRESS...nobody ever said to change superman, or spider-man....plz dont insult my intelligence with this weak reply by you..

intelligence? get off your high horse buddy, your other post that I replied to was a rambling on about how any race can play any role, as long as they are a good actor, I gave you a sufficient question and I'm sorry if it wasnt as long as you expected it to be, but I dont ramble.

should I answer my own question? Ok. No, I dont believe Captain America should be an Arab because the Arab is a good actor, or the Indian Batman, Mexican Superman and Asian Spider-Man. I grew up seeing these people as white characters, I dont care how racist that sounds. Would you feel weird watching a white Al Simmons or a black Incredible Hulk? Hell, screw it... Lets throw in a Jamaican Charles Xavier and a Thai Magneto

do not avoid my question, I believe you owe me an answer

by the way, direct'd, MENT, WHT, plz and blk insults your own intelligence, not me.

 

[mr. peasant]

intelligence? get off your high horse buddy, your other post that I replied to was a rambling on about how any race can play any role, as long as they are a good actor, I gave you a sufficient question and I'm sorry if it wasnt as long as you expected it to be, but I dont ramble.

should I answer my own question? Ok. No, I dont believe Captain America should be an Arab because the Arab is a good actor, or the Indian Batman, Mexican Superman and Asian Spider-Man. I grew up seeing these people as white characters, I dont care how racist that sounds. Would you feel weird watching a white Al Simmons or a black Incredible Hulk? Hell, screw it... Lets throw in a Jamaican Charles Xavier and a Thai Magneto

do not avoid my question, I believe you owe me an answer

by the way, direct'd, MENT, WHT, plz and blk insults your own intelligence, not me.

Not to butt in, but I personally have no problems whatsoever with the race changes you mentioned above as long as the actors are good at the role. After all, isn't it an actual law in the US that says one can't deny a person of a job based solely on race alone? Saying a particular cartoon/comic character has to be of a certain race is one step away from saying the guy you buy newspapers from or the cabdriver you're hiring has to be of a certain race. While I'm sure you (and most decent people) wouldn't cross that line, the principle behind them are the same. Also, I thought I should mention this: a Black Superman (surrogate) has been done before.

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

Not to butt in, but I personally have no problems whatsoever with the race changes you mentioned above as long as the actors are good at the role. After all, isn't it an actual law in the US that says one can't deny a person of a job based solely on race alone? Saying a particular cartoon/comic character has to be of a certain race is one step away from saying the guy you buy newspapers from or the cabdriver you're hiring has to be of a certain race. While I'm sure you (and most decent people) wouldn't cross that line, the principle behind them are the same. Also, I thought I should mention this: a Black Superman (surrogate) has been done before.

that is different, Steel was made to be an African American hero, and believe it or not, but I do believe some roles will never be given to someone who doesnt fit the race description, do you think they would have let Bruce Willis or Elijah Wood play Chris Gardner from Pursuit of Happiness?

I couldnt care less about minor roles being changed, but changing well known characters just because the actor has the same body shape and a bold head is pretty stupid

and really, NOBODY here would be ok seeing an Indian Spider-Man. Nobody.

 

[Kokoryu1]

Why is it that some people in here have no problem with character changes if the actor is good. That's such bull. Would you be saying the same thing if Harry Truman or Ronald Reagan were portrayed by good actors such as James Earl Jones and Danny Glover? How about Jack Nicholson as MLK? Or JFK by Lawrence Fishburne? It's not about the actor so much as it is why change something for no valid reason? (As far as this Ripcord Issue goes, no it doesn't create anarchy for me that they changed the characters race. What galls me is there is no valid reason for it. Ripcord was one of my favorite figures because he was one of my original 3. My first figure being Doc, my second Blowtorch and then Ripcord. So maybe I'm biased. Hell, I have in my basement all of my original figures. Well over 600. 230 Joes 370+ Cobras. 200 vehicles. So for me seeing this movie made is Awesome as I am A fanboy for G.I.Joe but when I see changes for no reason I get a little perturbed.) What if they had cast Morgan Freeman as Hawk? or Benecio Del Toro as Stalker?. Marlon Wayans is just a wrong choice for that role. The only thing worse than some of the casting is the supposed script. So yes I'm dissapointed. I am all for change, its the only constant in the universe. But change for no reason IS anarchy not evolution. So put down the Sailor moon comics and pick up G.I. JOE: #32, 33, 37-42, 45-50, 65, 74, 75, 80 G.I. JOE Special Missions: #25 just to see how minor a character Ripcord is.

 

[CEREBRAL....]

intelligence? get off your high horse buddy, your other post that I replied to was a rambling on about how any race can play any role, as long as they are a good actor, I gave you a sufficient question and I'm sorry if it wasnt as long as you expected it to be, but I dont ramble.

should I answer my own question? Ok. No, I dont believe Captain America should be an Arab because the Arab is a good actor, or the Indian Batman, Mexican Superman and Asian Spider-Man. I grew up seeing these people as white characters, I dont care how racist that sounds. Would you feel weird watching a white Al Simmons or a black Incredible Hulk? Hell, screw it... Lets throw in a Jamaican Charles Xavier and a Thai Magneto

do not avoid my question, I believe you owe me an answer

by the way, direct'd, MENT, WHT, plz and blk insults your own intelligence, not me.

First off, I’m purposely shorten words like "wht, plz and blk" (i do admit some were typos..hey, i'm not prefect) but that's me abbreviating, short text’ing if you will...I would figured you knew that. As we are posting paragraphs here, I rather not sit here and write out every single word, taking up time and space. HENCE why I'm abbreviating/short text’ing certain words...but I guess I have to assume u know nothing and completely write everything out.

You don’t like to ramble, then how long is your post I'm replying to now, along with others I have replied to? That one sentence was the shortest you post, so you may think you don't like to ramble but it sure seems like you're doing it.

And there is no high horse about me, if you read all my post I made it pretty clear....I see no big deal in changing certain characters race, as long as it's not that drastic of a change. I mean, I can't say it any clearer...on less u would rather me type it in bold to you. Yeah some characters there's no need to change their race, at all! ex: (SIDE NOTE "ex" IS SHORT FOR THE WORD "EXAMPLE" in case you didn't know) ex: superman, spiderman I'm sure everyone would be surprise to see their race change, and it's not warranted. That's kind of obvious and really a waste of time from me to let you know that I knew that. That's why I didn’t respond to it and that's why I asked you not insult my intelligence. It was a stupid question (in my opinion). The length at which you type I care less about.

If you wanna go tick for tact, then cool! I never seen you response to my president question at all? I would like a response please!?


another thing "catwomen" was a white character....they gave Eartha Kitt a chance to play "catwomen" in the television series and just as recently as a few years back hallie berry play'd the character on the big screem....so is that a problem?

(and in my opinion...nobody could touch michelle phifer as catwoman)