Danny McBride will helm the reboot of the G.I. Joe movie.

      Following several years of uncertainty regarding the new direction of Paramount’s G.I. Joe franchise, the studio has finally chosen a course by appointing Danny McBride to direct a reboot of the iconic Hasbro toy line into a fresh live-action film.

      Paramount had been deliberating between two G.I. Joe projects, with one of them being McBride’s, who previously wrote a script for a potential movie. This upcoming G.I. Joe film will serve as McBride’s directorial debut for a feature. The storyline will center around the elite global military unit G.I. Joe as they combat the sinister terrorist group known as Cobra, led by Cobra Commander.

      This announcement comes after McBride recently discussed his script, stating that it would draw inspiration from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book narrative, specifically the setting of Springfield: “You’re following Duke and a group of other Joes. There’s that town in the comics, Springfield, which is actually a town that’s secretly controlled by Cobra. That is where our film is set. We also have some intriguing people expressing interest in joining the cast. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but it seems like it’s going to be quite enjoyable.”

      G.I. Joe was initially created in the 1960s as a toy line aimed at boys, serving as Hasbro’s answer to Barbie. It significantly expanded in the 1980s with a new smaller toy line that led to the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, which has inspired most later iterations of the franchise. To date, four G.I. Joe movies have been produced, including an animated feature linked to the original series, 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, its 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and the reboot Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.

      Paramount has also been exploring the possibility of a crossover between the G.I. Joe franchise and Transformers, hinted at in the concluding scene of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. With the future of the Transformers franchise also in question, it remains to be seen if McBride’s G.I. Joe will pave the way for a live-action crossover later on. In the meantime, Hasbro Entertainment is working on an adult animated series titled Energon Universe, based on Skybound’s interconnected comics, including Transformers and G.I. Joe.