EXCLUSIVE: Danny McBride and Paramount Pictures have found their duke to lead the troops in their new G.I. Joe as sources tell Deadline, Bradley Cooper is set to star as the head of the military unit in the latest film based on the Hasbro toy line.
McBride is directing the picture, having landed the job after being one of the few projects considered by Paramount earlier this year. McBride, famous for his distinctive voice and creative vision, is also writing the screenplay with Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri.
Once McBride landed the job, he had a wish list of actors he wanted to play, with Cooper at the top of the list. Given Cooper’s busy schedule, which includes writing, directing, and starring opposite Margot Robbie in the upcoming The ocean prequel, there was no guarantee that he would be able to engage in GI Joe. But after reading the script and meeting McBride, he knew he wanted to star in the picture, and negotiations began in recent weeks.
Cooper brings his unique artistic excellence to the film as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors. This isn’t the first time McBride has attempted to cast the 12-time Oscar nominee in a project, as he shared how he got Cooper to play a guest role on his HBO series. The right gemstones.
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Cooper is already a year removed from the critical success of his film Searchlight Is this thing lit? which he directed, wrote and starred in alongside Will Arnett. THE The ocean the prequel was next, and after losing director Lee Isaac Chung during pre-production, Warner Bros came to Cooper to keep the film on track for release by asking him to not only star alongside Robbie, but also write and direct the film. Not only did he manage to keep the production in line, but he also assembled the same high-profile cast that the franchise is known for. The film is in production in Europe.
The untitled G.I. Joe pic is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian and Zev Foreman for Hasbro Entertainment. Plot details are under wraps, but it will be a reimagining of the franchise. It will also be decoupled from a previous crossover film with Transformers it’s no longer in development.
Paramount’s franchise growth is a key pillar of the strategy outlined by co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg earlier this year, as they have assembled top talent to expand and revitalize Paramount’s existing franchises and intellectual property, including Thunder dayswith Anne Hathaway, bringing together Tom Cruise with Jerry Bruckheimer under the direction of Jonathan Levine, World War Zlanding the return of Brad Pitt with Oscar winner Ed Berger set to direct; a new Paranormal activity film with James Wan and Jason Blum in production; a new Star Trek project by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley; And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, expanding the franchise with a new live-action film produced by Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher, in addition to the upcoming 2027 sequel to Mutant Chaos by Seth Rogen and Point Gray; Sonic the Hedgehog 4bringing together fan favorites Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba plus new additions to the Sonic family: Kristen Bell, Nick Offerman and Ben Kingsley; and the next part of Top Gun: Maverick. Paramount is also growing its portfolio by bringing well-known intellectual property in-house, including the first-ever Call of Duty film in partnership with Activision written and produced by Pete Berg with Taylor Sheridan under Berg’s direction. They also have A quiet place, part 3 with Emily Blunt under the direction of John Krasinski.
Both Cooper and McBride are replaced by Range.
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