Yo, Joe! After more than a decade, America's elite special mission force is finally returning to theaters. Paramount Pictures and Hasbro have officially greenlit a new live-action G.I. Joe movie, with Danny McBride—best known for The Righteous Gemstones—taking the director's chair for the first time on a feature film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, McBride will also write the screenplay, drawing inspiration from Larry Hama's classic 1980s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics. The project has been in development for years, with McBride's vision winning out over a competing take from Max Landis. McBride recently shared that Hasbro is "fired up" about the direction, and he expects filming to begin in 2027.
From Action Figure to Icon
G.I. Joe debuted in 1964 as the first action figure—a 12-inch "Movable Fighting Man" that could be posed and equipped with military gear. But after the Vietnam War dampened enthusiasm for realistic army toys and the oil crisis made larger figures costly, Hasbro rebooted the line in 1982 with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The new 3.75-inch figures—with codenames like Duke, Snake-Eyes, and Scarlett—battled the terrorist organization Cobra, spawning hit comics and cartoons.
The franchise has seen two previous live-action films: 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation. A 2021 spin-off, Snake Eyes, was meant to launch a new series but underperformed at the box office. Meanwhile, a G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover teased at the end of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts—which recently found streaming success on Paramount+—has gone quiet, with no updates on Chris Hemsworth's reported involvement.
McBride's Directorial Debut
McBride has directed episodes of Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, and written screenplays for The Foot Fist Way, Your Highness, and David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy. This new G.I. Joe marks his first time directing a theatrical feature. He has expressed deep affection for the franchise, particularly the Hama comics, which he calls "the definitive version" of the story.
As Paramount continues to mine its library for fresh takes—from horror reboots like the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street to streaming hits like the Yellowstone spin-off—this G.I. Joe reboot aims to capture the spirit of the original toys and comics while introducing the team to a new generation. Stay tuned for more updates as the project moves forward.
