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After announcing that Danny McBride had gone live on a podcast saying that his treatment of a new G.I. Joe film was probably going to happen, I (like many) took it with a rousing grain of salt. After all, just because McBride is excited and he says Paramount is excited doesn’t mean that anything is going to happen.
Wee, fast forward to yesterday and THR has dropped the bomb that not only is Paramount moving forward with McBride’s script for a new G.I. Joe film, but the actor/filmmaker has also been attached to make his directorial debut with the film.
A Joe feature is one of the big priorities at the studio, which, under new owner David Ellison, has been ramping up development of major IP and brands such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek. Some of those titles are moving on multiple development tracks, including Joe, which earlier this year had a second script being developed by Max Landis. That one did not move ahead.
The THR article also stated, “The move is really just a change of ranks for McBride as he also wrote the screenplay for the action project that is based on the Hasbro toy line. It would, however, mark his feature directorial debut, a notable step up after helming several episodes of Gemstones.”
THR is also saying that plot intel for the new JOE movie is classified right now but McBride stated on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast last week that his story centers on the fake town of Springfield and the fact that a unit of Joes led by Duke encounter Cobra and thus massive battles will be fought.
“So, I went to Paramount and pitched it, and they were like, ‘Well, the franchise needs to be launched, so we can’t come out with a Dreadnoks movie. Would you have an angle for G.I. Joe proper?’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah, I’ll have an angle for that. It grounds G.I. Joe. It’s not a comedy. It’s kind of suspense and action. Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Whole ensemble. 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,” McBride said on the podcast.
Well, I stated some of my thoughts in my previous article that I put out last week initially saying that the biggest question would be what characters besides Duke should enlist for the film (SNAKE EYES!!!) but also who should play them. No w there were other articles out there saying that Chris Hemsworth had dropped out of the planned film, but it was never fully fleshed out that Hemsworth was involved at all. There are also rumors out there saying that Bradley Cooper is replacing him but there was no one to ever replace as Hemsworth and Paramount never came out and said that he was attached. Cooper is also a rumor, so I’ll leave it at that.
Now that McBride has been hired to also direct from his script, the question that begs to be answered is whether McBride is the right candidate. After all, this would be his directorial debut and while he’s had success with his projects like the first Halloween film, the others suffered immensely. The last film in the trilogy, Halloween Ends is extremely decisive amongst the fanbase. Now it’s important to note that McBride did not direct these films of course, but he was involved in creating them. Should a first timer like McBride be trusted to helm a film of this magnitude? Even though he’s a huge fan of the IP doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the right fit to direct.
We have had three live action G.I. Joe films thus far and even though I like each of them for different reasons, it’s clear that many were not happy with them. I feel that Retaliation is by far the best out of the bunch. To make this new movie work, I feel that they need to go low key and lower budget while developing a more grounded approach and focusing on grounded tactical action and plot points while showing respect to these beloved characters. Being that McBride is a fan of the property bodes well but that doesn’t make it a slam dunk.
The other fear I have is that mainstream audiences will not show up for a new Joe film. it’s clear that 80’s IP are hit and miss and even though current films like Masters of the Universe was a home run with loyal fans, it failed to make a dent in the global box-office with everyone else. That same fate could besiege a new G.I. Joe movie. Of course, if you make a really great movie out of this franchise, people will show up so there is always that. We shall see but this upcoming year should be a good time for fans of YO JOE as we learn more about the movie and who will be in it. Fingers crossed…
I’ll have more to say about the new G.I. Joe movie as it moves ahead so stay tuned to the site!
