Now, though, Variety is reporting that the studio has decided to pass on Landis’ idea for a film based around the iconic action figure brand, suggesting that even concepts as potent and wide-ranging as redemption and nepotism have their limits in Hollywood hearts. To be fair, the outlet cites at least one source that makes it clear that the studio passed on the concept not because it was written by Max Landis—they’d clearly already gotten over that mental and moral hump—but because, well, they simply didn’t like the idea.
Credit where it’s due, Landis’ pitch does sound like the most Max Landis-ass idea we could imagine for a G.I. Joe reboot, in which evil organization Cobra would have been in the position of “having successfully taken over the world and reduced G.I. Joe to a conspiracy theory.” (It has all the Landis hallmarks, really: It sounds clever, and maybe even a touch socially conscious, but when you think about it for more than 10 seconds you realize it’s just a warmed-over Mark Millar idea with the serial numbers filed off.) Landis himself expressed surprise that anybody cares about any of this, noting that the treatment getting passed over was “just how big IP development always is. Honestly, I was surprised it was reported at all.” (We’d suggest that the combination of name-brand recognition, the current scrutiny on David Ellison’s Paramount for signs of overt evil, and the sheer ugliness of the accusations levied at Landis all had something to contribute.)
Paramount, meanwhile, will soldier on, desperate to get one of these dang G.I. Joe movies to work one of these days. The studio is reportedly courting a number of writers—many of whom, in stark contrast to Landis, have not been accused by multiple women of sexual assault—to come up with pitches for the franchise.
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