Photo via The Straits Times
The big-screen team-up fans have dreamed about for more than a decade is officially off the table. Paramount has killed its plans for a live-action Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie, closing the book on years of anticipation that kicked off with a post-credits tease.
What Happened to the Crossover Movie?
The news broke in an October 2026 report that Bradley Cooper has been cast as Duke in a new standalone G.I. Joe film directed by Danny McBride. Per the report, McBride's movie has been "uncoupled" from the Transformers franchise, with the previously planned crossover no longer moving forward at Paramount.
How the Crossover Was Set Up
The idea of a crossover was first hinted at in 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. In its final scene, Anthony Ramos' Noah Diaz shows up for what looks like a government security interview — but ends up being recruited into the G.I. Joe organization by Michael Kelly's Agent Burke.
The studio then made it official at CinemaCon in April 2024. Derek Connolly — who wrote Jurassic World and Kong: Skull Island — was hired to write the script, while Chris Hemsworth was reportedly being eyed to star. Hemsworth was no stranger to the franchise, having voiced a young Optimus Prime in 2024's animated Transformers One.
In spite of all that momentum, the movie never got in front of cameras.
What G.I. Joe Looks Like Now
Rather than a crossover, G.I. Joe is being rebooted from scratch. Danny McBride, the creative force behind The Righteous Gemstones, is directing and co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri. Bradley Cooper takes on Conrad "Duke" Hauser — a character previously portrayed by Channing Tatum in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The project is described as a franchise reimagining, and filming is reportedly expected to begin next year.
How Bradley Cooper Landed the Role of Duke in G.I. Joe Reboot
Photo via Nicki Swift
According to Deadline, Bradley Cooper closed his deal to play Duke in early October after several weeks of negotiations — and it was the script that sealed it. Cooper, 51, had real scheduling concerns: he's currently directing and starring in Warner Bros.' Ocean's Eleven prequel alongside Margot Robbie, with filming underway in Europe. But after meeting with Danny McBride and reading the screenplay McBride co-wrote with Jeff Fradley and John Carcieri, Cooper signed on.
McBride reportedly always had Cooper in mind for Duke — First Sergeant Conrad S. Hauser, the field leader of the Joe team — after winning a competitive pitch process to write and direct the film for Paramount. The casting also reunites the two: Cooper guest-starred in a 2025 episode of McBride's HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones, and the pair previously co-starred in the 2015 film Aloha. Channing Tatum played Duke in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation, while Henry Golding headlined the 2021 prequel Snake Eyes.
What's Next for Transformers
This marks yet another setback for Transformers at the box office. After Michael Bay's fifth installment, Transformers: The Last Knight, disappointed at the box office, the follow-ups — Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts, and Transformers One — never got back to the billion-dollar hauls the series used to deliver. A new Transformers film from writer Jason Fuchs is reportedly in the works, picking up Noah Diaz's story from Rise of the Beasts — just without the Joes alongside him.
So the post-credits scene meant to kick off a shared Hasbro universe now sits alongside all those other franchise teases that never went anywhere. Duke gets his reboot, the Autobots carry on solo, and fans can only keep dreaming about that team-up.
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