G.I. Joeis one of the most well-known toy properties in the world. Originating in 1964 as a 12-inch toyline that represented the various forms of the United States military,G.I. Joeis the toyline that coined the term action figure. In 1982, Hasbro relaunched the brand asG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. This version featured 3.75-inch toys and vehicles (inspired by the success of theStar Warstoy brand) and featured a storyline with a conflict between the hero team G.I. Joe and the villainous terrorist organization known as Cobra led by the evil Cobra Commander.
The relaunch of the brand was a major hit and is most well known for the animated seriesG.I. Joe: A Real American Herothat ran from 1983 to 1986. It also was the basis of a popular Marvel Comic series that ran for 155 issues from 1982 to 1994, long after the brand’s boom of popularity in the 1980s, with writer Larry Hama expanding on much of the franchise’s mythology and giving the various characters personality and relationships. While attempts to relaunchG.I. Joehad popped up in the 90s and early 2000s through various other television series and toy launches, it never quite recaptured the public imagination the same way and had fallen behind Hasbro’s other big toyline,Transformers.
Attempts to make aG.I. Joemovie had been in development in Hollywood since the 1990s, and the first real attempt came close in the early 2000s, but due to the Iraq War the subject was deemed inappropriate and the push was made forTransformersto get a film made instead. WhileTransformershas been a highly successful film franchise, having released six films over 15 years with a seventh arriving in 2023, theG.I. Joefranchise has struggled.
Since the first film was released in 2009, only threeG.I. Joefilms have been made and after two attempts the franchise tried to reboot itself. There have been massive delays between films and while the first two entries were hits with major stars, they didn’t reach the breakout status of theTransformersfilms and likely seemed like disappointments for the studio. These are all the live-actionG.I. Joefilms released in theaters.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Following the box office success ofTransformersin 2007, Hasbro and Paramount Pictures reteamed for an adaptation ofG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Released in 2009 in the same summer asTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen,G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobrafollows Duke (Channing Tatum) and his friend Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) as they are recruited into a top-secret international fighting force named G.I. Joe. The team consists of Scarlett (Rachel Nicols), Snake-Eyes (Ray Park), Breaker (Said Taghmaoui), and Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who attempt to stop arms dealer James McCullen (Christopher Eccelston) and his team, consisting of Baroness (Sienna Miller), Storm Shadow (Lee-Byung-huh), and Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), from unleashing havoc on the world with a pair of nanomite warheads.
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Directed byThe MummyandVan Helsing’s Stephen Sommers,G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobraplays more like an adaptation of the G.I. Joe toys than the animated series or comics, and plays around with a lot of the G.I. Joe lore. Baroness is now both the ex-girlfriend of Duke and revealed to be the sister of The Doctor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is the future Cobra Commander, but in this version a scientist working for M.A.R.S. who is biding his time to take control from Destro.
Scarlett’s romance with Duke in the original series and Snake Eyes in the comics is changed to Ripcord, and the Joes themselves are made into an international organization rather than a U.S. military force as a way to reach a more global audience. It also does this in an attempt to downplay the actual war elements intrinsic to the franchise, as the U.S. was still occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, and instead favors a more classic James Bond vibe. The movie was quickly written before the 2007-2008 Writer’s Strike and released in theaters on August 13, 2025, where it opened to $54.7 million and went on to gross $150 million domestically and $302 worldwide.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Released four years afterThe Rise of Cobra,G.I. Joe: Retaliationattempts to both be a sequel and relaunch the franchise in an effort to address much of the criticisms of the first film. It hangs its central threat from a plot point left dangling in the previous film: Zartan having impersonated the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce).Retaliationbrings back some actors and characters, but for the most part disregards much of the cast in favor of a new team. The only returning characters are Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Zartan, Cobra Commander, and Duke, but Cobra Commander is recast and Duke is killed off early in the film’s runtime. The film makes a quick reference to the events of the first film, calling it the Nanomite Wars, but no reference is made to the original team or the base in Egypt that housed thousands of recruits when it is said all the Joes are killed.
Zartan as the President orders the termination of the G.I. Joe unit and all that remain are Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), and Flint (D.J Cortona). These characters team up with the franchise’s namesake General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis), alongside Snake Eyes and his new apprentice Jinx (Elodie Yung) to stop the organization Cobra, which has now been made the United States' elite strike force (after the G.I. Joes had been wiped out) and soon threatens the whole world. Led by Cobra Commander with Zartan acting as the president, they are joined by Storm Shadow and Firefly (Ray Stevenson).
Stepping into the director’s chair is futureCrazy Rich AsiansandIn The Heightsfilmmaker Jon M. Chu, who attempts to capture the look and spirit of the original 1980s cartoon. The film is notable for originally being set for release on August 16, 2025, only to be delayed back to July 17, 2025, just one month before it was set to open in theaters. The delay was done in an attempt toconvert the movie to 3D, and likely avoid competition that summer from films likeThe Amazing Spider-Man,The Dark Knight Rises, andThe Bourne Legacy. When it did open, it made a respectable $40.5 million over the three-day Easter weekend. WhileG.I. Joe: Retaliationgrossed less than its predecessor domestically, it outgrossed it internationally and brought the film’s worldwide gross to $375 million.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
Paramount Pictures originally had plans to develop a thirdG.I. Joefilm, and still does. But they also planned a spin-off origin film for the franchise’s most popular character, Snake Eyes, similar to how they were with Bumblebee for theTransformersfilms series. The hope was if the film was a success, it could be areboot of theG.I. Joefranchise, and hence the project known asSnake Eyes: G.I. Joe Originswas born.
The movie follows Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) and his friendship turned future rivalry with Tomisaburo “Tommy” Arashikage (Andrew Koji) who will become the future Storm Shadow. In a major departure from every other incarnation of Snake Eyes, this version talks and is played as a much more selfish individual who over the course realizes the errors of his ways but comes too late to where he has hurt those close to him and betrayed his friends trust to turn him into a future enemy. The film primarily focuses on the Arashikage Clan in Japan but the larger G.I. Joe series is hinted at with Baroness (Úrsula Corberó) and the organization Cobra working with the main villain, and Scarlett (Samara Weaving) representing the G.I. Joes.
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The film underwent several release date changes, originally scheduled for June 27, 2025, to June 30, 2025, and then a week later to October 23. Then the COVID-19 pandemic caused the film to be delayed until June 19, 2025. Then in March 2021, the film was bumped up to August 22, 2025, giving the film only three months to begin its marketing campaign. This move was likely done as a way to try and cash in on theaters slowly reopening, andSnake Eyes: G.I. Joe Originscould be a typical summer blockbuster offering for audiences looking to come back to the theaters. However, it was a box office disappointment, crushed by films likeBlack Widow,Space Jam: A New Legacy,Old, andThe Jungle Cruise. The film grossed $40.1 million worldwide against a budget of $88 million, and thus wasa box office bomband quickly forgotten about, scrapping the plans to spin the franchise off from this entry.
G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant
Shortly afterG.I. Joe Retaliationwas released, a third film was put into development at Paramount Pictures. Originally intended for release in 2016, the film was delayed when director Jon M. Chu departed the project to direct the other Hasbro-based propertyJem and the Holograms. In 2015, D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye) was hired to direct and the original plan for the third film was to see the villainoustwins Tomax Paoli and Xamot Paolias the primary villains with Cobra Commander in a small role. Dwayne Johnson was set to return as Roadblock, and the film would also introduce Matt Tracker, the lead oftheM.A.S.K.toy franchise, and rumors had the script ending with a reference to theTransformersfilms. This was at a time when Hasbro was developing a writer’s room to connect their various franchises.
In May 2018, the film was officially titledG.I. Joe: Ever Vigilantand was set to feature Roadblock joined by a team consisting of Wild Bill, Doc, Barbeque, Keel-Haul, and General Flagg. The film was set for release in 2020 but was then taken off the schedule in favor ofSnake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. While that would appear to be the end of that incarnation of the franchise, in March 2021 franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said multiple scripts for a third movie remain in development, hinting that a third film may eventually be released.
Other Future G.I. Joe Projects
As mentioned previously, Hasbro considered uniting the G.I. Joe franchise with others likeM.A.S.K.,Rom: The Space Knight,Micronauts, andVisionaries: Knights of the Magical Lightto create an interconnected shared universe of stories to compete with the MCU, DCEU, and the MonsterVerse. Yet in 2021, franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura revealed that the plans for a shared universe would not be moving forward. While there has been some hesitation about crossing the franchise over withTransformers,di Bonaventura has said it’s inevitable.
The franchise does appear to be moving towards the world of live-action streaming series. In February 2021, the same yearSnake Eyeswas released, it was announced that a series focused on the character Lady Jaye was in development at Amazon. The series is said to be an extension of the film franchise and will be a joint venture between Amazon, Paramount, Skydance, and eOne.
Release Order of G.I. Joe Movies
Since 2009, threeG.I. Joefilms have been released theatrically. HadG.I. Joe: Retaliationnot been pushed back from August 15, 2025, to March 2013 the franchise would have been a summer movie series. The gap between the first and second film was four years, while the reboot did not arrive until eight years afterRetaliationand 12 years after the first film was released.
