Paramount is passing on Max Landis’ treatment for a “G.I. Joe” franchise reboot, TheWrap has learned.
The treatment effort was first reported by TheWrap last month as coming seven years after the screenwriter’s high-profile #MeToo scandal — fitting a pattern within the David Ellison-led studio of hiring men with troubled pasts.
The “G.I. Joe” franchise is a high priority for Paramount CEO Ellison, who wants the film out before the company’s video game adaptation of “Call of Duty,” which has Taylor Sheridan attached to write. “The Righteous Gemstones” creator Danny McBride was also in talks to write a treatment for a reboot at the time of reporting, and Paramount is still holding meetings with writers to get a live-action adaptation off the ground.
Landis told Variety, which first reported the news of Paramount’s passing on Saturday, that “this is just how big IP development always is” and he was “tremendously grateful to have been given the opportunity.”
Representatives for Paramount could not be reached for comment.
Paramount’s first live-action attempt at “G.I. Joe” was 2009’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” directed by Stephen Sommers. It grossed $302 million against a $175 million budget, but came amidst the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Paramount wanted to go higher.
Then came the Jon M. Chu-directed “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” in 2013, which starred Dwayne Johnson and attempted to soft-reboot the franchise. It grossed $376 million, but further installments stalled until 2021’s “Snake Eyes” origin film, which floundered with $40 million in the midst of the pandemic.
The “G.I. Joe” IP has gone through a resurgence in recent years with publisher Skybound breathing new life into the comic books with a run overseen by “Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman.
Umberto Gonzalez contributed to this report.
