'Star Wars' Writer Gary Whitta Turned Down 'G.I. Joe' Movie

Gary Whitta, who co-wrote Rogue One, says he turned down Paramount’s offer to write a G.I. Joe reboot. Posting on BlueSky, Whitta said he declined after being asked to pitch in November, arguing his idea would be too subversive for Paramount and Hasbro and that he did not want to work with Paramount CEO David Ellison.

He wrote, "I may not make an honest buck but I’m a hundred per cent American and I don’t work for no two-bit Nazi." Paramount has hired Danny McBride and Max Landis to pen two separate scripts for the reboot, with the studio saying it may merge the drafts. Landis has not worked in Hollywood since 2019, following a Daily Beast piece in which eight women accused him of sexual and emotional abuse.

Whitta’s statement arrives amid broader controversy around Ellison’s leadership at Paramount.

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