In the old "G.I. Joe" cartoon, knowing was half the battle. For a new reboot, casting an A-lister is the other half.
Twelve-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper is set to star in a new "G.I. Joe" movie for Paramount Pictures, the studio announced Oct. 1. Danny McBride is directing and cowriting the latest take on the 1980s toy franchise. It's his first big-screen directorial effort, after heading up episodes of his HBO series "Vice Principals" and "The Righteous Gemstones."
Cooper, who cameoed in the final season of McBride's "Gemstones," will be playing G.I. Joe leader Duke. The Joe team is comprised of special-forces operatives and assorted military types usually pitted against the villainous terrorist organization Cobra. Channing Tatum played
Duke in the two previous "G.I. Joe" movies: 2009's "The Rise of Cobra" and the 2013 sequel, "Retaliation." Dwayne Johnson headlined the latter film as heavy gunner Roadblock.
Official plot details for the new movie are still under wraps, but it's a reimagining not connected to the earlier movies. It's also separate from a previously announced crossover film with the "Transformers" franchise that is no longer in development.
McBride gave an update on his "G.I. Joe" project in July on an episode of the "Happy, Sad, Confused" podcast. The filmmaker mentioned that the movie centers on Duke and other Joes in a town called Springfield that is secretly all Cobra – a storyline from the 1980s "G.I. Joe" comic books – and McBride is looking to start filming next year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bradley Cooper signs on as Duke in Danny Bride's 'G.I. Joe' movie
