After leaked drafts of the script were criticized by fans, Larry Hama, writer of the comic, was hired as creative consultant and rewrites were made. Filming took place in Downey, California and Prague's Barrandov Studios, and six different companies handled the visual effects. The film was released through August 5 to 7, 2009 worldwide, following an extensive marketing campaign focused on the Mid-American public. The film received mixed reviews but opened at the top of the box office, grossing over $301 million worldwide. A sequel is being planned.

* Channing Tatum as "Duke" (Conrad Hauser): The lead soldier. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was originally interested in casting Mark Wahlberg,[4] and when the script was rewritten into a G.I. Joe origin story, the studio offered the role to Sam Worthington.[5] Tatum had played a soldier in Stop-Loss, an anti-war film, and originally wanted no part in G.I. Joe, which he felt glorified war. Once he read the script though, he realized the franchise was a fantasy akin to X-Men, Mission: Impossible and Star Wars rather than a war film.[6]

* Dennis Quaid as "General Hawk" (Gen. Clayton Abernathy): The team leader. Quaid described Hawk as "a cross between Chuck Yeager and Sgt. Rock and maybe a naïve Hugh Hefner".[7] Quaid's son convinced him to take on the part, and the filmmakers enjoyed working with him so much that Stuart Beattie wrote "ten to fifteen more scenes" for the character.[8] He filmed all his scenes within the first two months of production.[9] Quaid is signed on for two sequels.[10]

* Marlon Wayans as "Ripcord" (Wallace Weems): Duke's friend, a pilot with a loving interest on Scarlett.[8] A fan of the franchise, Wayans was cast on the strength of his performance in Requiem for a Dream.[11] Bonaventura said that film showed Wayans could be serious as well as funny.[8]

* Rachel Nichols as "Scarlett" (Shana M. O'Hara): She graduated college at age twelve and became the team's intelligence expert. Having left school so early, she does not understand men's attraction to her. Nichols was the first choice for the role.[8] Nichols had dyed her blonde hair red – Scarlett's hair color – for her role in Star Trek, which she filmed before G.I. Joe.[12] She burned herself filming an action sequence with Sienna Miller.[13]

* Ray Park as "Snake Eyes": A mysterious ninja commando who took a vow of silence, a departure from the character's traditional difficulty in speaking due to grievous vocal wounds. Like his character, Park is a martial arts expert and specifically practiced wushu for the role, as well as studying the character's comic book poses.[14] Park had known of Snake-Eyes having played with the toys as a child, but he knew very little of the surrounding saga of G.I. Joe versus Cobra, so he read the comics to further understand the character. He was nervous about wearing the mask, which covered his entire head quite tightly, so he requested to practice wearing it at home. He found the full costume, including the visor, very heavy to wear and akin to a rubber band; he had to put effort into moving in it.[15] Leo Howard plays the 10-year-old Snake Eyes.

* Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as "Heavy Duty" (Hershel Dalton): An ordnance expert and field commander of the team. Common was offered the role of Heavy Duty's cousin Roadblock,[16] although Bonaventura previously indicated Heavy Duty was being used in that character's stead.[4]

Stuart Beattie ultimately chose to have Heavy Duty instead of Roadblock.[8]

* Saïd Taghmaoui as "Breaker" (Abel Shaz): He is the team's communications specialist and hacker.[8][17]

* Karolína Kurková as "Cover Girl" (Courtney A. Kreiger): Hawk's aide-de-camp. Kurková described going from her modeling career to making such a film as "an amazing experience", but said she was upset on not taking part on any action sequences.[18]

* Brendan Fraser as Sgt. Stone:[19] At first, it was reported he was going to play Gung-Ho, but it was later revealed he plays Sergeant Stone.[20]