Danny McBride, known for The Righteous Gemstones, has secured a deal with Paramount to direct a new G.I. Joe film. McBride originally pitched a story focused on the Dreadnoks, a mercenary faction within the franchise, but the studio redirected him toward rebooting the entire G.I. Joe universe. Working with collaborators from his television series, McBride developed a script that was ultimately selected over a competing pitch by writer Max Landis, with the studio expressing confidence in his vision.

McBride's approach abandons comedic elements in favour of grounded action and suspense storytelling. The narrative follows Duke and other G.I. Joe operatives as they engage in missions within Springfield, a town in the comic's fictional world that operates as a secret Cobra stronghold. This will mark the franchise's return to cinemas since 2021's Snake Eyes, positioning itself as a more serious military action film rather than the broader adventure style of previous instalments.