Bradley Cooper will play Duke in Paramount Pictures’ new G.I. Joe film, according to reports published Thursday, October 1, by TheWrap and Variety. Danny McBride is directing the latest screen adaptation of Hasbro’s military adventure franchise. The casting gives the project a leading actor as Paramount develops a new version of the property.
Hasbro had announced in July that McBride was attached to direct the film and had written its screenplay. TheWrap and Variety reported Thursday that Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri are also credited as writers. Duke is the field commander associated with the G.I. Joe team, and Cooper’s casting puts him at the center of the planned story.
TheWrap reported that Paramount described the film as a reimagining of G.I. Joe. It also said the project has been separated from a proposed crossover with Transformers. Variety reported the same separation, which clarifies the film’s direction after a crossover was suggested at the end of the 2023 film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
McBride previously described a story following Duke and other members of the team in Springfield, a town linked to the rival Cobra organization in the comics, according to TheWrap. The outlet said Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian and Zev Foreman are producing for Hasbro Entertainment. Paramount has not announced a release date or disclosed a complete cast in the reports reviewed.
The new film follows earlier Paramount adaptations of the Hasbro toy line. TheWrap noted that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra arrived in 2009, G.I. Joe: Retaliation followed in 2013, and the spin-off Snake Eyes was released in 2021. Hasbro’s July statement described the McBride project as part of its wider plan to develop films and television programs around its brands.
Cooper’s selection marks a concrete step in that plan, while the story, remaining cast and timetable still await fuller disclosure. The next confirmed milestones would be further production announcements from Paramount or Hasbro. For now, the October 1 reporting establishes the lead role and the film’s separation from the previously proposed Transformers crossover.
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