When facing the relaunch of a franchise, why hire one writer to develop an idea when you can hire two? That’s Paramount’s new strategy for G.I. Joe: The Hollywood Reporter reports that Danny McBride and Max Landis have been hired to work on separate ideas involving the toy brand — the studio then plans to blend the two different scripts into a single one.
Landis, the screenwriter behind 2012’s Chronicle and 2017’s Bright, has been quiet in recent years, ever since multiple women came forward with accusations of sexual and emotional abuse at his hands. (Tragically, the world may never get to see his take on Pepe Le Peu.) This will be his first major project since the 2019 Daily Beast investigation into his behavior, but Paramount is developing a track record for putting canceled men back to work, as Brett Ratner prepares to bring the world his Rush Hour 4.
McBride’s involvement does make some degree of sense, as the writer/director/comedian has established himself as not just a singular comedy force (his most recent series, HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones) but someone with franchise experience, as a writer and producer on the relaunches of Halloween and The Exorcist.
It’s not unusual for studios like Paramount to develop multiple scripts within a single franchise, though typically the aim is not to copy and paste all the best bits together for one movie. It also seems like a shortsighted strategy, considering that 2023’s acclaimed box office smash Barbie was a success thanks to the singular creative vision of writer/director Greta Gerwig.