Bradley Cooper is being eyed to lead the new ‘G.I. Joe’ film for Paramount Pictures, stepping into a role that Chris Hemsworth has quietly walked away from in a shake-up that landed in July 2026.
The role belongs to director Danny McBride’s fresh take on the toy-and-comic franchise, and sources say Hemsworth exited for reasons that have not been made public, as reported by Nexus Point News.
Cooper is now the name in the frame to take over.
Speaking on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, McBride spelled out where he wants to steer the property.
His version centres on the character Duke and leans into a grounded tone, a long way from the loud, effects-heavy blockbusters the name usually brings to mind.
What McBride said about ‘G.I. Joe’
McBride made clear he was not chasing cheap laughs with the material, pushing back on the idea that a big-screen G.I. Joe has to be a joke and pitching something with more tension running underneath it.
“Weirdly, it grounds G.I. Joe; it’s not a comedy. It’s kind of suspense and action, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
He also teased the setting he has picked out for the story, reaching into the source comics for a location longtime fans will recognise the moment they hear the name and what it hides beneath the surface.
“You’re following Duke and a group of other Joes… There’s that town in the comic, Springfield, which is a town that’s secretly all Cobra, and so that is where our film takes place.”
How the ‘G.I. Joe’ script beat the competition
Back in February 2026, word got out that Paramount was weighing two rival G.I. Joe scripts, one from McBride and another from screenwriter Max Landis. McBride’s pitch won the studio over, and that is the version now moving ahead with Cooper attached to the wish list.
Cooper and McBride are not strangers. Cooper turned up as a surprise, playing Elijah Gemstone in an episode of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, the series McBride created and stars in, so the two already have a working shorthand heading into this one.
McBride has made his name as the creator and star of Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, and he is not slowing down.
He will next lend his voice to the character Bomb in The Angry Birds Movie 3, keeping a busy run going across television and film.
Where Bradley Cooper and G.I. Joe go next
Cooper is coming off Is This Thing On? and Superman, with acclaimed turns in A Star Is Born, American Sniper and as the voice of Rocket in the Guardians of the Galaxy films behind him.
He is lined up for Bong Joon Ho’s Ally and an untitled Ocean’s Thirteen prequel opposite Margot Robbie.
Nothing is locked yet, since Cooper is being eyed rather than signed, which leaves Paramount and McBride to firm up their Duke before cameras roll. The studio’s next move will decide whether the grounded G.I. Joe McBride pitched gets its leading man.
