Paramount is taking an unusual move to figure out one of its key IP franchises, G.I. Joe.
The David Ellison-owned studio has tapped Max Landis, the screenwriter canceled in the late 2010s during the height of the #MeToo movement, to work on a treatment for a feature adaptation of the Hasbro toy brand.
At the same time, it has also hired The Righteous Gemstones star and creator Danny McBride to work on a separate script for Joe. According to several sources, the studio will then try to blend the two scripts into one.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura is the producer behind the Joe movies.
Developing two scripts at the same time is somewhat rare, but not unheard of. It occurred with the rise of studios’ focus on franchises and big IP plays in the 2010s. Warner Bros.’s Tarzan and Universal’s The Mummy reboot in the mid-2010s had writers working on two versions before their elements merged or one script raced ahead. While not employing this method exactly, Paramount previously put its Transformers and Star Trek movie franchises on multiple tracks, with several scripts developed, including a GI Joe/Transformers crossover movie.
What is more eye-raising is the hiring of Landis. The son of John Landis, one of Hollywood’s top directors in the 1980s, the younger Landis made a name for himself with his screenwriting, with his prolific output generating fans around town. He was known for selling spec scripts for millions and found early success with 2012’s Chronicle, a super-power thriller directed by Josh Trank that had Michael B. Jordan among its stars. He wrote Bright, a big-budget fantasy that starred Will Smith and Joel Edgerton which became one of Netflix’s early hits.
He also had a keen perspective on superheroes, with a take on Superman he wrote and directed taking off as a viral YouTube video and later writing a comic mini-series for DC.
But then numerous women stepped forward to speak about Landis’ alleged behavior, accusing him of sexual and emotional abuse, reaching a peak in 2019 with an expose by The Daily Beast. In the aftermath, he was dropped by his representatives as CAA and Writ Large, and saw projects he was developing wither and die. No charges were ever filed against Landis.
In a YouTube video three years ago, Landis acknowledged what he called serious mistakes in relationships and called himself a toxic partner to girlfriends. “I get why certain people hate me,” Landis said at the time.
And he has continued to deliver his takes on superheroes, seen in as series of YouTube videos including one titled Max Landis Presents: The Deposition of Barry Allen. (Allen is the alter ego of DC hero The Flash.) The long monologue, which are Landis’ online specialties, is delivered by the writer in character as Allen and could be seen as a paralleling his life. He plays Allen as a persecuted, bordering-on-mad, scientist whose career is over but is then given a chance to work again by evil billionaire Lex Luthor, who is hiring other criminals for his secret endeavors.
“I’m not one of the psychos,” Landis as Allen says near the end of the piece. “I’m just a genius.”
The hiring of Landis continues the propensity of Skydance-run Paramount to work with figures that have proven to be controversial in other parts of Hollywood. In fact, it has done so repeatedly.
David Ellison-headed operations, from Skydance to now Paramount, have a history of picking up distressed human assets. Early on, former Pixar head John Lasseter was hired as Skydance’s animation chief after admitting “misteps” that made employees feel “disrespected and uncomfortable” at Pixar. Most recently, it made a deal to distribute Rush Hour 4, which would mark the big studio return of disgraced director Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 and also helmed the Melania documentary for Amazon.
While McBride is known for his acting, he has also done substantial screenwriting. Among his work was co-creating shows such as Righteous Gemstones, Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, all for HBO and with strong, over-the-top comedic bents. He also spent recent years ensconced in horror, having co-written the recent Halloween trilogy that was produced by Blumhouse as well as 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer, which failed at the box office and failed to relaunch a franchise as was the hope at the time.
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