Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | News | March 16, 2026
Barely a minute after it became clear that David Ellison was sinking his hooks into Warner Bros. Discovery, a report dropped that made it very clear what kind of operation he’s running: Disgraced screenwriter Max Landis was inexplicably getting a shot to write a script for a new G.I. Joe movie. Not only that, but Danny McBride was already working on his own script for the project, which would reportedly be merged with whatever Landis farted out.
Welp, that experiment ended quickly.
Barely two weeks after THR broke the news, Paramount has reportedly passed on Landis’ script for “creative reasons,” which I’m sure has nothing to do with the swift and immediate backlash.
Via Variety:
Reached via Instagram, Landis told Variety he was “tremendously grateful to have been given the opportunity.” He elaborated that his pitch came together “very serendipitously based on the coolness of the weird and subversive idea.” That idea centered around the film franchise’s villain, Cobra, “having successfully taken over the world and reduced GI Joe to a conspiracy theory. But this is just how big IP development always is. Honestly, I was surprised it was reported at all.”
According to Variety, McBride’s script is still in play as it should be. The Righteous Gemstones has been an action comedy tour de force. (The Cycle Ninjas in Season 2, c’mon.) A G.I. Joe movie is in McBride’s exact wheelhouse, and Paramount had the nerve to dust off Max Landis because, sometimes, you need a second pass from an alleged predator?
If I’m McBride, I’m walking after that nonsense. But I’m not, and he’s probably doing something smart like still getting paid for a movie that will never see the light of day because Paramount can’t stop shooting itself in the foot. What are they going to do next? Have Woody Allen write a Transformers movie? I hear things are going great for him right now. Do it for Bumblebee.
