Bradley Cooper stars as Duke in Danny McBride's G.I. Joe
Bradley Cooper is set to star as Duke, the field commander of G.I. Joe, in Paramount Pictures' new film based on the Hasbro toy line, with Danny McBride directing. The casting reunites two Range clients after Cooper's guest turn on McBride's HBO series The Righteous Gemstones and gives Paramount a marquee lead for its franchise reboot.
Deadline reported the news exclusively on October 1, 2026, describing Cooper as the leader McBride wanted at the top of his wish list once he landed the directing job. Variety confirmed the same day that plot details and further casting remain under wraps, while Paramount promises a fresh take on the property.
Key Takeaways
- Bradley Cooper will play Duke in an untitled Paramount G.I. Joe movie directed by Danny McBride.
- McBride co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri after his pitch was among several Paramount considered earlier in 2026.
- The project is a reimagining of the franchise and is no longer tied to a planned Transformers crossover.
- Cooper signed on after reading the script and meeting McBride, despite a packed schedule that includes the Ocean's prequel.
- Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Zev Foreman produce for Hasbro Entertainment.
Why does Bradley Cooper as Duke matter for G.I. Joe?
Variety describes Duke as the field commander of the Joe team, the on-screen face of an iconic Hasbro toy line Paramount is promising to revisit with a fresh take. Putting a 12-time Oscar nominee in that role gives the reboot immediate star power as the studio leans into franchise growth alongside Days of Thunder, World War Z, Star Trek, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Cooper's recent track record blends blockbuster scale with auteur ambition. His Searchlight film Is This Thing On?, which he directed, wrote, and starred in opposite Will Arnett, drew strong critical notice. Warner Bros. then tapped him to write, direct, and star opposite Margot Robbie in an Ocean's prequel after Lee Isaac Chung exited during pre-production, keeping that franchise entry on schedule while production continues in Europe.
That workload made Cooper's G.I. Joe commitment far from automatic. Sources told Deadline there was no guarantee he could take the role until he read McBride's script and sat down with the director. Negotiations picked up in recent weeks and closed with Cooper aboard as Duke.
How did Danny McBride land the G.I. Joe director's chair?
Deadline highlights McBride's distinctive voice and creative vision. Variety notes that G.I. Joe marks his first major directing effort on a live-action tentpole, though he previously directed the pilot of The Righteous Gemstones and episodes of Vice Principals.
Paramount had been weighing a handful of pitches for the property earlier this year before settling on McBride. Once he had the job, he built a short list of actors he wanted in lead roles, with Cooper at number one. The studio's co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg have framed franchise growth as a core slate strategy, lining up talent across Days of Thunder, World War Z, Star Trek, Sonic the Hedgehog, and other legacy brands.
McBride is not new to chasing Cooper for a role. He has publicly recounted how he persuaded the actor to appear on The Righteous Gemstones—a connection that clearly helped when it came time to sell him on Duke.
What happened to the Transformers crossover?
Variety reports that Paramount confirmed this G.I. Joe film has been "uncoupled" from the Transformers universe. A crossover had been teased at the end of 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but that combined path is no longer in development. The standalone reboot can reintroduce Joe mythology without sharing continuity with the robots in disguise.
Official plot beats remain secret. Deadline reports the film will be a reimagining of the franchise, while Paramount has not announced further casting beyond Cooper. McBride, Fradley, and Carcieri therefore have room to shape the story before more names join the unit.
Where does G.I. Joe fit in today's nostalgia boom?
Paramount's push to grow existing franchises is a pillar of the slate strategy co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg outlined earlier in 2026. G.I. Joe joins a roster that includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Top Gun: Maverick's next chapter, and Activision's Call of Duty film. If you track how classic brands return to theaters, our Nostalgia: Then & Now hub follows those revivals as they move from toy aisles to tentpole budgets.
Variety cites Cooper's filmography highlights, including American Sniper, A Star Is Born, and Silver Linings Playbook, as context for the casting. Pairing that résumé with McBride—who famously landed Cooper for a guest role on The Righteous Gemstones—frames the project as a high-profile reunion as much as a nostalgia play.
Production timelines and release dates were not announced in the October 1 reports. With Cooper still tied to the Ocean's prequel in Europe alongside Margot Robbie and Monica Barbaro, scheduling will likely determine when cameras roll on G.I. Joe. For now, Paramount has its Duke: Bradley Cooper, leading the latest attempt to bring Hasbro's soldiers back to the big screen under Danny McBride's direction.