While the popularity of theG.I. Joefranchise has waned over time, even those who are not fans agree that the character from the series known as Snake Eyes is pretty awesome. Very little is known about Snake Eyes beyond the fact that he is a ninja who wields submachine guns (which is all you need to know to fall in love with him). But that is about to change with his upcoming solo movieSnake Eyes, starring Henry Golding in the titular role. According to the actor, the film will throw light on his character’s complex past.
“What fans can kind of expect from Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is the origin of Snake Eyes. You see his weaknesses, you see his faults, you see him trying to make amends for decisions that perhaps weren’t as savory as you would imagine. You see a bond between brothers, you see the thrill of creating a team and defeating the hurdles in front of you. And you get to really see somedamn cool fight scenes, which trained and got our asses kicked for, and they were phenomenal.”
The last time that fans got to see a live-action version of Snake Eyes was in the less-than-well-received 2009 movieG.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and the 2013 sequelG.I. Joe: Retaliation. According toHenry Golding, the team behind his film wanted to make sure fans knew this new version of Snake Eyes is a whole ‘nother beast from the previous version, and one important way they plan to do so is by focussing on the characters rather than random explosions.
“You have to make it clear to the fans that that’s the thing that makes this different than the other iterations. How these martial arts scenes are so central to the whole fabric of the story. In the other iterations, they were secondary. There waslots of vehicles and explosionsand all these things, and the thing about having it be central to the martial arts experience and the conflict is that it brings it all down to the characters, and the characters are the only thing you really care about. I think that’s an important thing that potential viewers of this film should know about.”
Cool, so it sounds like thisG.I. Joespinoff movie won’t have a lot of car chases or explosions. But it will have a lot of character-driven drama. Is that what fans of a black-clad ninja wielding a sub-machine gun who never says a word and never takes off his mask want out of an origin movie? Who cares, that is what we’re getting. And if the movie becomes successful, we should probably next get ready for an intense, character-driven drama about Cobra Commander along the lines of the recentJoker. Or maybe a gritty origin story for Roadblock.
Directed by Robert Schwentke,G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyesstars Henry Golding as Snake Eyes, Andre Koji as Storm Shadow, Iko Uwais as Hard Master, Úrsula Corberó as Baroness, and Samara Weaving as Scarlett. The film arrives in theaters in October 2021. This news was first shared atCinemaBlend.
