Young Hollywood Stars to Headline Live-Action G.I. Joe Movie

As the film industry looks for franchise films with instant name recognition, Paramount thinks it has a winner in G.I. Joe. The effects-heavy action film has what the studio thinks might be the perfect pedigree: a highly recognized brand name that's been around for over 40 years, a successful comic book and cartoon track record, endless merchandise opportunities and some of the hottest young stars in movies.

GI Joe first appeared in the 1960s as a kind of boys' version of Barbie - a line of 12-inch Hasbro dolls with a military theme. Then, the brand was reinvented for the children of baby-boomers, and GI Joe got his own comic book, Saturday morning cartoon series, a new line of smaller action figures and - most importantly - an evil nemesis.

It's this later generation of the GI Joe story that's covered in the movie "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which arrives in theaters late this summer. The story features Duke, the leader of an elite team of fighters based in a desert headquarters known as The Pit. Their mission is to "fight for freedom wherever there is trouble" - meaning, primarily, the evil Cobra commander and his forces.

Playing the lead role of Duke is Channing Tatum, who first gained attention as the hunky star of the two Step Up street dance films. He received good reviews for his work in the Iraq homefront drama Stop Loss, then broke out as the tough-guy lead in this summer's Fighting.

Already a film veteran and - surprisingly to those who remember him from the TV series Third Rock from the Sun or Disney's Angels in the Outfield - nearing the age of 30, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the Cobra Commander.

No summer movie would be complete without beautiful women, and GI Joe has a pair of its own. Sienna Miller plays The Baroness. Miller is best known for her controversial role in Factory Girl, and as the tabloid favorite ex-wife of Jude Law, with whom she appeared in Alfie.

Despite a media blackout on GI Joe details, Miller has been telling the press about an extended fight scene she has with relative newcomer Rachel Nichols, who plays Scarlet O'Hara of the GI Joe team. Nichols has a major role in the TV series Alias, and causes a stir by bedding Capt. James Kirk in this summer's new Star Trek movie, in which she plays a green-skinned alien.

Rounding out the cast are veteran actors such as Dennis Quaid as a general and Jonathan Pryce as the President of the United States.

A limited sneak peek at the industry convention ShoWest included a dramatic destruction of the Eiffel Tower by the nefarious Cobra forces. The short scene that was screened had fans comparing what they saw to the summer blockbuster Independence Day, and its dramatic destruction of the White House.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, hits theaters on August 7.