Bradley Cooper to Star as Duke in Danny McBride’s ‘G.I. Joe’ Movie at Paramount

Bradley Cooper is returning to active duty for Danny McBride's G.I. Joe franchise, taking on the role of Duke, the leader of the Joes. The upcoming Paramount action film, based on the popular action figure line, marks Cooper's first flesh-and-blood action franchise since A-Team, which was released over a decade ago. Since then, Cooper's blockbuster credentials include voice-over work as Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy and cameo appearances in Superman and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

He has also ventured into directing, with two Oscar-nominated films, The Maestro and Is This Thing On? However, he recently expressed his enthusiasm for playing the role of the battalion leader in G.I. Joe, saying "Go Joe." Cooper is also directing and starring in the latest Ocean's 11 reboot, a prequel featuring Margot Robbie. The G.I.

Joe film will be a reboot of the live-action franchise that peaked with 2013's Retaliation, starring Channing Tatum. However, the franchise struggled after that, with the prequel Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins released in 2021, following the pattern of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, with only a single movie released. Danny McBride won a competition to write and direct G.I. Joe, beating disgraced screenwriter Max Landis, who was also in contention for the script.