Paramount has staked out a summer 2028 date for its animated "G.I. Joe" feature, with Danny McBride attached to the project, the studio confirmed Friday. The film, which carries the simple title "G.I. Joe," will arrive in theaters nearly four decades after the franchise's first animated outing.

The new movie is described as an animated action-adventure with strong science fiction and fantasy elements, aimed at both families and longtime fans of the property. Its story centers on the G.I. Joe team confronting a fresh threat: an ancient civilization of snake people called Cobra-La, who are determined to reclaim the surface world from the people who pushed them underground in the distant past.

That premise will be familiar to devotees of the 1987 feature "G.I. Joe: The Movie," which followed a similar Cobra-La storyline. Directed by Don Jurwich, the earlier film ran 93 minutes and featured a sprawling voice cast, including Michael Bell as Duke, Arthur Burghardt as Destro, Corey Burton as Tomax, Charlie Adler as Low-Light and Shuko Akune as Jinx. It holds a 6.6 out of 10 rating on TMDb.

A Long Road Back to Theaters

The 1987 release was produced in English for the Hollywood market and blended animation with action, science fiction, family, adventure and fantasy - a genre mix the new production appears to be carrying forward. For Paramount, the 2028 date represents a bet that a familiar brand can draw both nostalgic viewers and a younger audience raised on animated action fare.

McBride's involvement gives the project a distinct comic sensibility. The actor and writer is best known for his deadpan performances in comedies such as "Eastbound & Down" and "Vice Principals," and his attachment suggests the studio is looking to balance the property's military-adventure roots with humor. Details on his specific role - whether as writer, producer, voice actor or some combination - were not disclosed in the announcement.

What the Story Brings

Cobra-La, the hidden society at the center of the plot, gives the film an unusual antagonist for a franchise traditionally built around the terrorist organization Cobra and its colorful roster of villains. The snake people's grievance - that they were driven beneath the earth ages ago - sets up a conflict in which the Joes must defend the surface world from an enemy with a historical claim rather than a purely criminal agenda.

The new film will be released in English and produced within the Hollywood studio system, keeping it in line with the franchise's origins. No casting for the 2028 feature has been announced, and Paramount did not indicate whether any performers from the 1987 voice ensemble would return in new roles.

The Franchise at a Glance

"G.I. Joe" began as a toy line before expanding into comics and animation, and the 1987 film became a touchstone for a generation of viewers who encountered it on home video. Its voice roster also included Jack Angel as Wet-Suit, Gregg Berger as Motorviper, Earl Boen as Taurus and Corey Burton doubling as Tomax, among others.

The 2028 project joins a crowded slate of animated family films scheduled for that summer, though Paramount has not yet revealed a specific release date within the season. The studio is expected to share more information on the creative team and cast as production moves forward.

For now, the announcement marks a notable step for a property that has cycled through live-action and animated iterations over the decades. Whether McBride's take leans more toward the earnest adventure of the original cartoon or toward the star's trademark irreverent humor remains to be seen - but the 2028 release gives audiences roughly two years to find out.

Source: Hollywood Reporter