Danny McBride Set To Make Directorial Debut With GI Joe Reboot

The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound & Down star Danny McBride is now attached to direct the new theatrical GI Joe reboot for Paramount Pictures, per The Hollywood Reporter. McBride was already on board with the planned reboot as a writer, and now he’ll direct the film.

The movie will mark his feature directorial debut. McBride previously directed multiple episodes of Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, but he’s yet to direct a feature. He previously wrote the new Halloween and The Exorcist: Believer for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse.

THR notes that the new GI Joe reboot has been a major priority at Paramount under new CEO David Ellison, as the studio is looking to ramp up development of its major IP and brands, including new versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek. Joe has been on multiple development tracks with McBride and Max Landis previously writing separate scripts for the feature. Paramount opted not to move ahead with Landis’ take.

THR reports that plot details on McBride’s script are being kept under wraps. However, during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McBride teased that his movie “grounds” GI Joe and is “not a comedy.” McBride also said on his take, “You’re following Duke and the other Joes, and there’s that town, Springfield, which is secretly all Cobra. So, that is where our film takes place.”

Debuting in the Real American Hero comic series in 1982, Springfield is a seemingly small, quaint American town that is controlled and operated by Cobra and used as their base of operations. It’s inconspicuous as there’s a Springfield in just about every state. The town also makes an appearance in the Sunbow animated series two-parter, “There’s No Place Like Springfield.”

The feature is based on Hasbro’s popular action figure line, which started as the 12-inch military-themed toys in the 1960s. In the early 1980s, Hasbro collaborated with Marvel Comics to revamp the property, which began with the iconic GI Joe: A Real American toyline in 1982, along with a popular Marvel Comics series of the same name. The new comic and toy line reinvented GI Joe as a team of special military commandos, who form an elite team to battle the ruthless terrorist organization, Cobra, led by the evil Cobra Commander.

The toys and comics proved so popular, along with the animated commercials that advertised them, that Hasbro collaborated with Sunbow Productions, starting the GI Joe: A Real American animated series, which debuted with “The M.A.S.S. Device” miniseries in September 1983. GI Joe became one of the most popular and iconic animated shows of its era.

Filming on Danny McBride’s GI Joe Reboot Is Expected to Start Next Year

Paramount has produced three live-action GI Joe movies to mixed results. The first movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, released in 2009, grossed $150 million domestically and $302 million worldwide. The last installment, 2021’s Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins, was a critical and commercial flop, grossing only $40 million worldwide on a $110 million budget.

During Happy Sad Confused, McBride revealed that he hopes to start shooting the movie next year. Paramount’s GI Joe does not yet have an official release date.