Spoiler warning for those who haven't seen G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but ... Channing Tatum's Duke was seemingly killed off early in that film.

Those of us who followed the sequel's long road to the box office will recall rumors that Paramount Pictures abruptly moved its opening June 2012 to March 2013 so it could figure out a way to somehow expand the role of the actor, whose profile had risen significantly since 2009's Rise of Cobra. (For the record: The studio's official explanation of the move was to allow time for 3D conversion.)

So now that Tatum is an even bigger star, what are the odds of seeing Duke in the third film?

"You never know," director Jon Chu admitted to MTV. "Storm Shadow died in the first one and came back in the second one, and then other characters have died and never come back. The G.I. Joe world, the best thing about it is you never know who's coming back and who's not."

Chu signed on over the summer to helm the third film, based on a script by Snow White and the Huntsman writer Evan Daugherty. Although the project is in the early stages, the director is clearly excited by the possibilities.

"It's gonna be a really fun movie," he teased. "We're taking it in a whole new direction."