Disgraced screenwriter Max Landis’ Hollywood comeback is over before it even started. Paramount is not moving forward with his G.I. Joe treatment.
Variety reports Paramount Pictures and Hasbro have passed on Max Landis’ G.I. Joe project. He was one of two people the studio tapped to develop a new direction for the franchise. Beloved Hollywood star Danny McBride is still working on his own idea. While McBride’s script is still alive, Landis’ treatment is already kaput. The studio is also said to still be looking for additional pitches for a series relaunch, so McBride’s screenplay is no guarantee, either. It’s clear Paramount still doesn’t know what it wants, just that it didn’t want what Landis was selling.
Further reporting by Deadline‘s Anthony D’Alessandro says Paramount passed because Landis’ treatment took a “satirical artistic tone.” A source said that approach would not help retail sales, and that was the ultimate factor. The source specifically said the rejection “had nothing to do with Landis’ past.” That past includes a lengthy 2019 piece from The Daily Beast in which eight women credibly accused the now 40-year-old screenwriter of “emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.” Landis never faced any formal charges. However, until now he had not officially worked with any major studio since.
Yet, someone at Paramount felt it was important enough to specify this rejection was a wholly creative matter and not a moral one. Didn’t want any confusion why they passed on Max Landis. Great stuff.
As for the idea itself, Landis described it to Variety as “weird and subversive” that saw Cobra in charge of the world. As a result, the G.I. Joe were to nothing more than a “conspiracy theory.” A world where the bad guys are in charge? Wow, so subversive and weird!
….Anyway, just like before, we can’t wait to see what American hero Danny McBride comes up with.