RZA and D.J. Cotrona in G.I. JOE 2?

Let us take a moment and bow our heads in a moment of silence for rapper-turned-actor RZA and D.J. Cotrona because THR brings word that the two of them are now connected to G.I. Joe 2: Cobra Strikes, and that’s a fate nobody deserves.

RZA has joined the turkey as Blind Master, a martial arts master who trained Snake-Eyes and Jinx (portrayed by Elodie Yung), and Cotrona hops on-board as Flint. There’s no word yet on if Cotrona will be sporting Flint’s trademark beret and shotgun combo, but I’d be willing to bet he does.

While just about everyone else had the good sense to jump ship, Channing Tatum and Lee Byung-hun are back as Duke and Storm Shadow, respectively, and Ray Park also returns as Snake-Eyes. Byung-hun was actually one of my favorites from the first film so I’m glad to see him returning, although he might regret that decision at some point in the future.

Fortunately, to balance out Tatum’s lameness, we have Dwayne ‘formerly The Rock’ Johnson adding a little muscle to the franchise.

G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes is being directed by Jon Chu and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and it’s expected to show up in theaters on August 10, 2012. I, for one, will not be waiting in breathless anticipation for it.