Tatum Fate NOT Behind GI Joe 2 Reshoots

The main reason for the once delayed action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation had seemingtly nothing to do with the fate of one of the film's main characters.

The film was due out June of 2012 --Then delayed 9 months to add 3-D and to presumeably beef up star Channing Tatum role after folks noticed he was all but abscent in the first trailer....And then we learned that his character Duke is taken out of the action--presummed dead--and that is used as a catalyst to bring in a whole new team of Joes save for Byung-hun Lee.

Now--producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura tells Crave Online:

"That is a complete rumor. I don’t know where that started. Literally, Channing shot for - if I have it wrong, I’m off by an hour - four hours, five hours? So it wasn’t really about that at all," he says.

In fact this new version--"It’s not much different. Literally, we shot for three extra days. We just added sort of explanation in what we did afterwards."

French actress Elodie Yung will play a ninja member of the Joe squad named Jinx Adrianne Palicki will play the female lead in the film as Lady Jaye/Alison R. Hart-Burnett. She is the Joe Team’s covert operations specialist Ray Stevenson will play the villain. Dwayne Johnson is Roadblock Joe Mazzello is set to play the role of Mouse Rapper/actor RZA AKA Robert Diggs amd D.J. Cotrona are cicling roles as well. While Bruce Willis plays General Joseph Colton, the man who in 1980s comic books starts the G.I. Joe strike team, and got the handle G.I. Joe. Walton Goggins will play Warden Nigel James in the film.

Jon Chu called the shots on the film from a Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick script.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation strikes starting on March 29th, 2013.