Bradley Cooper to Play Duke in Paramount's G.I. Joe Reboot, Directed by Danny McBride
Cooper joins McBride's feature directorial debut as the field commander of a story rooted in the 1980s comics, set in a secret Cobra-controlled American town.
Bradley Cooper is set to star as Duke, the field commander of the G.I. Joe team, in Paramount Pictures' reboot of the Hasbro franchise — a project that marks Danny McBride's debut as a feature-film director and a deliberate break from the cinematic universe that stalled with 2021's underperforming Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.
Paramount confirmed the casting on October 1, ending weeks of speculation. According to Deadline, Cooper was McBride's first choice for the role, and the actor agreed to join after reading the script and meeting with the filmmaker.
Cooper previously made a cameo in the final season of McBride's HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, and the two have a prior working relationship. Filming is eyed to follow his current commitments.
The role of Duke has history: Channing Tatum played the character in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its 2013 sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Paramount has described the new film as a 'reimagining,' separate from the previously planned Transformers crossover, which is no longer in development.
McBride has a clear creative premise in mind, drawn directly from the original 1980s Marvel Comics run rather than the previous films. During a July appearance on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, he outlined the story's core setting.
It's like kind of suspense and action, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. You're following Duke and a group of other Joes. There's that town in the comic, Springfield, which is a town that's secretly all Cobra, and so that is where our film takes place.— Danny McBride, Director
The Springfield storyline — in which the terrorist organisation Cobra has secretly infiltrated an entire American town — was a defining arc of the original comics and has never been used in a live-action G.I. Joe film, giving McBride's version a distinct setting from its predecessors.
McBride co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri, his collaborators on The Righteous Gemstones. Before this project, McBride's directing credits were limited to television, including episodes of The Righteous Gemstones and Vice Principals.
No further casting has been announced, and Paramount has not set an official production start date or theatrical release window. The studio has said only that the film will provide a fresh take on the Hasbro property.
The G.I. Joe franchise has struggled to find sustained momentum on screen. After the two Channing Tatum-led films in 2009 and 2013, a planned shared universe with Transformers was developed but ultimately shelved. Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, released in 2021 as a standalone origin story, underperformed at the box office and left the franchise without a clear path forward until this reboot was announced.
Why it matters — After years of franchise misfires, Paramount is betting a high-profile star and a director with a specific comic-rooted vision can finally make G.I. Joe work on screen.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- McBride's pitch was selected over a competing treatment by Max Landis.
- Cooper and McBride previously worked together on 'Aloha.'
- October 1, 2026 (year removed)
- He is currently filming an Ocean's prequel, with the G.I. Joe project eyed to follow, and filming is targeted for 2027, according to USA Today
- The multi-source web summary notes his pitch was selected over a competing treatment by Max Landis
- Cooper is currently filming an Ocean's prequel.
Reported by variety.com, deadline.com, ibtimes.co.uk, usatoday.com
