Key Takeaways
Danny McBride will direct Paramount’s new G.I. Joe movie, his first feature as a director, working from a script he wrote himself. Bradley Cooper is rumoured for a lead role, reportedly replacing Chris Hemsworth, though no casting has been confirmed.
- McBride’s script beat out a rival draft by Max Landis, which was scrapped.
- Bradley Cooper’s involvement is a rumour, not a confirmed deal, with sources saying he would replace Chris Hemsworth.
- The film is a fresh reboot following 2021’s mixed-reception Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, and G.I. Joe is a key franchise focus for Paramount.
Why is Danny McBride directing G.I. Joe?
Danny McBride is taking the director’s chair on Paramount’s new G.I. Joe film, and he is doing it off his own screenplay. It marks his feature directing debut, five years after the franchise’s last outing landed in 2021.
McBride is best known as a comedian, writer, and actor across Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, and HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. This is his first feature as a director, but he is far from untested behind the camera: he created and executive produced The Righteous Gemstones and directed several of its episodes. His G.I. Joe script was chosen over a rival draft by Max Landis, which was ultimately scrapped.
The pairing sounds odd on paper, which is precisely why it is interesting. A writer-director who understands both spectacle and character, handed a franchise that has never quite worked on the big screen, is a more promising proposition than another anonymous action hire. Paramount clearly agrees, treating G.I. Joe as a priority alongside other properties it controls, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek.
Is Bradley Cooper cast in the G.I. Joe movie?
Bradley Cooper is rumoured for a lead role, but nothing has been confirmed. Sources cited by Nexus Point News say Cooper is poised to replace Chris Hemsworth, who reportedly exited the role for undisclosed reasons.
Cooper, whose credits include The A-Team and American Hustle, would be a heavyweight get for a reboot trying to reset audience expectations. For now it stays firmly in rumour territory, so treat any character details with caution until Paramount actually confirms a cast.
How does this fit the wider G.I. Joe reboot?
This is a fresh reboot of the 80s Hasbro toy line rather than a continuation of the earlier films. The last entry, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, arrived in theatres in July 2021, also distributed by Paramount, and was itself a full reboot met with mixed reviews.
We scored Snake Eyes a 7/10 at the time, praising its “strong character work throughout” and “sensible approach” to the universe as an “admirable attempt” at the franchise, while flagging “confusing and disorienting” fight scenes. Whether McBride can improve on that will come down to execution, but a director with a genuine grip on tone and character is exactly what this brand has been missing. Hollywood’s current appetite for reworking established properties runs deep, as our look at how studios keep mining familiar franchises for new films shows.
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