Danny McBride has shared initial details about his upcoming G.I. Joe film, confirming that the project will lean into suspenseful action rather than comedy. McBride, who has a background in comedic roles, stated that he has a completed script which Paramount is reportedly pleased with. The film is tentatively slated to begin filming in 2027.
According to McBride, the movie will center on Duke and a group of other G.I. Joes. A significant plot point revealed is that the town of Springfield will be secretly controlled by Cobra. This setting will be the primary location for the film's events. McBride expressed a deep affection for the G.I. Joe franchise and initially pitched a Dreadnoks-focused movie to Paramount before being asked to develop a broader G.I. Joe film to re-establish the intellectual property.
McBride previously collaborated with director David Gordon Green on the recent trilogy of Halloween films. While the latter two entries in that series proved divisive, the 2018 reboot was critically and commercially successful. McBride noted that he and Green aimed for a crowd-pleasing slasher with the initial Halloween film but felt they had more creative freedom to experiment in the sequels, even if those choices were not universally embraced.
Whether McBride's G.I. Joe film will feature unexpected tonal shifts remains to be seen, but his current comments suggest a more straightforward action-thriller approach. The film's potential release could be as early as 2028, contingent on a smooth production schedule. This new G.I. Joe movie follows 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which received a poor reception, and the 2021 spin-off Snake Eyes, a box office disappointment. Previous Transformers films had also teased a crossover with G.I. Joe, though this has not yet materialized.