Marlon Wayans Once Shared How Being Fired From ‘G.I. Joe’ Led to ‘A Haunted House’
Actor Marlon Wayans knew what it was like being written out of movies. He famously lost the chance to play Robin in Tim Burton’s Batman franchise. Additionally, he expected to reprise his role as Rip Cord in the sequel G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Although he was written out of that feature as well, that only motivated Wayans to return to his comedic roots.
How Marlon Wayans got over being written out of ‘G.I. Joe’
Wayans put in a lot of effort to be a part of the G.I. Joe franchise. He wasn’t even thought of for the role of Rip Cord. But being a fan of the cartoon show, he felt compelled to campaign for himself when he heard that a movie was being made.
“Finally I heard they was doing a movie and was like, ‘I gotta be a part of it,’” Wayans once said according to Black Film. “So I talked to director Stephen [Sommers] and producer Lorenzo [di Bonaventura]. At first, the part was written as a white guy. But they also said he was handsome, charming, athletic and I thought I could play some of those, minus the handsome part, probably. So, I just went, read with Scarlett’, and we had great chemistry, me and Rachel, and now I’m in G.I. Joe.”
However, he’d be noticeably absent from the movie’s sequel, G.I. Joe Retaliation. His character was one of a few who were written off to make way for a new cast to lead the series. As upset as Wayans was at essentially being fired, it inspired him to do A Haunted House. The horror parody was a return to form for Wayans, who both wrote and produced the project.
“I got written out of G.I. Joe and was like, welp, I’m going to go back to what I do: writing and producing comedy. I think it’s a blessing they wrote me out of the movie. I would have never had a chance to do this,” Wayans once told Chicago Tribune.
Marlon Wayans’ Batman experience prepared him for ‘G.I. Joe’ years earlier
Wayans tried to set the record straight on his casting as Robin once and for all. The comedian was all but guaranteed to play the Boy Wonder in the next couple of Burton Batman movies. He asserted that he snagged the part the old-fashion way.
“I got the role, I auditioned and got the role. We were negotiating, and I actually told me manager, ‘I don’t want to be stuck playing Robin for five movies! There are other things I want to do.’ So they got me the option to only do one movie… which was stupid,” Wayans once said according to Review STL. “I should have signed for twelve! Man, what’s wrong with me?”
A change in management would later cost him the role. Wayans revealed that Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher didn’t want him for Robin, casting Chris O’ Donnell in his place. But if there was one benefit to getting canned, it’s that it helped prep him for losing G.I. Joe.
“And then… but that set me up. That prepared me for when they wrote me out of G.I. Joe 2. I was like, you know, this just happens in Hollywood sometime,” Wayans said.
But that doesn’t mean Wayans’ superhero aspirations are completely dead. With comic book movies getting bigger every year, perhaps a role might come his way sooner or later. There was even a fan theory that he could make his long-awaited superhero debut in the DCEU. However, nothing came out of the speculation.
