G.I. Joe (film series)

Lore & Background

Development for the first film began in 2003, but when the United States launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested adapting the Transformers instead. The first film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, was released in 2009, directed by Stephen Sommers. A second film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, was released in 2013, directed by Jon M. Chu. A third film, centered on Snake Eyes and titled Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, served as a reboot of the series and was released in 2021. No fourth film has been officially confirmed by Paramount or Hasbro at this time.

Reader's Guide

The G.I. Joe film series represents a modern adaptation of the long-running toy line, navigating challenges such as the Iraq War's impact on development and fan expectations. The series began with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009, which grossed $302 million worldwide, followed by G.I. Joe: Retaliation in 2013, which grossed $375 million. The 2021 film Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins rebooted the series by focusing on the origin story of the character Snake Eyes. The series has seen multiple script rewrites, director changes, and shifts in tone, reflecting the difficulty of translating the property to film. Its significance lies in its persistence as a franchise, with a fourth film in active development, and its connection to the broader Hasbro toy-based film universe.

Did You Know?

• Development for the first film began in 2003, but the Iraq War led Hasbro to suggest adapting Transformers instead.
• The script for the first film was leaked online by El Mayimbe of Latino Review.
• The second film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, was originally thought to be titled G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, but this was later denied by writer Rhett Reese.
• The third film, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, was delayed from October 23, 2020 to July 23, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Geopolitical Crosscurrents and the Road to Production

The G.I. Joe film project was profoundly shaped by the political climate of the early 2000s. Development initially launched in 2003, but the U.S. invasion of Iraq that same March sent shockwaves through the production pipeline. Don Murphy, who had been interested in adapting the property, deemed the subject matter inappropriate given the ongoing conflict and pivoted to developing Transformers instead—a suggestion Hasbro's Brian Goldner had made. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, a former Warner Bros. CEO who had previously collaborated with Goldner on toy lines tied to films, stepped in to produce. He later acknowledged that the international position of the U.S. president made releasing a film called G.I. Joe diplomatically complicated, prompting the addition of Alex Mann from the British Action Man line as a softening measure. The project also gained momentum from the commercial success of Transformers, which Bonaventura produced alongside Murphy, giving the G.I. Joe adaptation a clearer financial pathway forward.

A Chameleon Script and the Battle for Fan Fidelity

The screenplay for The Rise of Cobra endured an extraordinary gauntlet of rewrites. Michael B. Gordon's initial draft was followed by rewrites from Paul Lovett and David Elliot, then Skip Woods, who controversially swapped the Cobra Organization for a crooked CIA agent named Ryan. When the script was leaked online by El Mayimbe of Latino Review, fan backlash was swift and negative. Bonaventura admitted personal reservations about Cobra as depicted in the cartoon, calling it "probably the stupidest evil organization out there," yet Hasbro insisted on writing the villains back in. Stuart Beattie ultimately crafted a fresh script for director Stephen Sommers, while comic writer Larry Hama served as creative consultant, steering story elements closer to the source material and persuading the team to cut a scene where Snake Eyes speaks. Additional writers John Lee Hancock, Brian Koppelman, and David Levien contributed scenes to keep production on track ahead of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild strike.

Box Office Trajectory and the Expanding Franchise

The G.I. Joe film series has demonstrated consistent commercial viability across its installments. The Rise of Cobra, released on August 7, 2009, and directed by Stephen Sommers, collected $302 million at the global box office. Its sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, hit theaters on March 28, 2013, in both 3D and IMAX 3D formats, and was helmed by Jon M. Chu with a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the duo behind Zombieland. That entry grossed $375 million worldwide, outperforming its predecessor. The franchise then pivoted with Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins in 2021, a film centered on the silent ninja that doubles as a soft reboot of the series. Looking ahead, a fourth installment titled G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant has been confirmed as being in active development, signaling that the studio sees continued potential in the property despite the shift in creative direction from the original pair of films.

Identity, Inspiration, and the Question of What G.I. Joe Means

Defining the on-screen identity of G.I. Joe proved as contentious as writing its script. When Variety reported that Paramount had reimagined the team as a Brussels-based entity standing for "Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity," outrage followed. Hasbro pushed back on its official website, insisting the brand would always be synonymous with bravery and heroism, and that the film was simply a modern telling of the classic G.I. Joe versus Cobra storyline, with the team operating out of the "Pit"—their base throughout the 1980s comic books. Director Stephen Sommers drew inspiration from James Bond, describing an underwater battle sequence as a nod to Thunderball. Bonaventura, meanwhile, framed Duke's character as embodying values he believed a worldwide audience could connect with. The creative team drew more from Larry Hama's comics than the 1980s cartoon, and Hama himself helped shape story choices to satisfy longtime fans.