With Masters of the Universe hitting theaters this summer, another classic 1980s action figure line is making its way back to the big screen. The Righteous Gemstones' Danny McBride has penned a script for a G.I. Joe movie for Paramount, and it may make its way into production sooner than we think. McBride discussed the film with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
McBride is "fired up" about the script, and, more importantly, so is Paramount: "hopefully, we're shooting it next year." McBride is a longtime fan of the franchise's comics, cartoons, and action figures, and originally approached Paramount about doing a movie centering around the Dreadnoks, an uncouth band of Mad Max-style mercenaries who Cobra frequently hires to battle G.I. Joe; however, Paramount wanted to reboot the entire franchise, and asked him to write a script for G.I. Joe proper. Writing it with Righteous Gemstones collaborators Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri, he penned a script that is not a comedy, and delves into some deep G.I. Joe continuity: "You're following Duke and a group of other Joes...there's that town in the comics, Springfield, which is a town that's secretly all Cobra, and so that is where our film takes place." He also teased that some casting may already be in the works: "We have some pretty interesting people lining up to be in it, too. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but it looks like it's going to be pretty fun."
What Is Springfield?
In the Marvel G.I. Joe comics penned by longtime scribe Larry Hama, Springfeld was a quaint American town that had fallen on hard times; a down-on-his-luck used car salesman founded the paramilitary organization Cobra there, and became Cobra Commander; the residents of Springfield became loyal members of the organization, which made Springfield its headquarters. Springfield also turned up on the G.I. Joe cartoon; in the two-part episode "There's No Place Like Springfield," Joe operative Shipwreck wakes up in the titular town with a wife and family who attempt to gaslight secret information out of him; he soon discovers that they're inhuman creations of Cobra.
This will be the fourth shot at the big screen for G.I. Joe. Channing Tatum starred as Duke in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; although it was a relative disappointment, it spawned a sequel, G. I. Joe: Retaliation, in 2013. Paramount tried to relaunch the series with a solo movie for silent G.I. Joe ninja Snake Eyes, but met with even less success. A live-action crossover between the G.I. Joe and Transformers franchises is also in development; Chris Hemsworth was attached to star in 2024, but no news on the film has been reported since.
Danny McBride's G.I. Joe movie is in development. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
