Chris Hemsworth is a busy man. Since temporarily hanging up his cape and hammer following Taika Waititi's Thor: Love And Thunder, the Aussie action hero has returned as Tyler Rake in explosive Netflix sequel Extraction 2, strutted his Dementus stuff in George Miller's epic Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and found time to lend his voice to a certain Optimus Prime in Josh Cooley's upcoming robots-in-disguise origin story Transformers One. And clearly the Autobot experience has been an, er, transformative one (sorry!) for Hemsworth. As reported by Deadline, the actor is currently in talks to lead Paramount's as-yet-untitled Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie.
A team-up between two of Hasbro's biggest toy lines on the big screen comes as no surprise. During the post-credit scene at the end of last year's Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts – SPOILER ALERT – ex-soldier and all-round hero Noah (Anthony Ramos) turns up for a new job at a secretive security firm. There, a secret agent (Michael Kelly) hands him a business card adorned with the logo for top-secret military organisation G.I. Joe. "We're in the middle of an ongoing war," Kelly's character ominously states, in the process teeing up whatever this new Transformers x G.I. Joe collab will eventually be.
Now, we don't know anything about the crossover movie's plot, when it's expected to hit our screens, or even who will be at the helm for it. But the last we heard, Rise Of The Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. was in active talks to return for the Transformers follow-up, having steered the multi-billion dollar grossing franchise's latest instalment to a very tidy $439 million cume at the global box office. And given G.I. Joe's somewhat patchy critical and commercial reception to date, a safe pair of hands like Caple Jr.'s guiding the crossover sounds like a smart move. We'll share more news on the biggest nerd-out collab since Godzilla first met Kong as soon as we get it. But for now, Transformers One is our next stop. Autobots, roll out!