News on G.I. Joe 3 has been light, with Jon Chu moving on to direct Jem and the Holograms and Paramount announcing that the sequel would be hitting theaters in 2016. Other than those two bits of news, development has been slow going.

Now it’s being reported that the sequel has a new writer, and the film will be more focused on Dwayne Johnson‘s Roadblock character. Hit the jump for more.

Screenwriter Jonathan Lemkin has been hired by Paramount to write G.I. Joe 3. With Chu busy working on Jem, its highly unlikely that he will return to direct. Which means Paramount will have to look for another director to fill his seat. But with a writer in place, Paramount’s plan for a 2015 start date and 2016 release is more likely to happen now.

Lemkin is best known for his work on Shooter, which starred Mark Wahlberg.

But with a Roadblock-centric script confirmed, this goes against what producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said about hoping to have more ninja action in subsequent G.I. Joe sequels.

This isn’t the first time that di Bonaventura has worked with Lemkin in the past. The two have worked on Devil’s Advocate and Lethal Weapon 4.

[Source: Variety]