Henry Golding promises that the latest live-action G.I. Joe film, Hasbro and Paramount are now rebooting G.I. Joe and beginning their latest attempt at creating a universe for the franchise with Snake Eyes. It will star Golding as the titular character, and he will be ed by Andrew Koji, Iko Uwais, Úrsula Corberó, and Samara Weaving when the film finally hits theaters (and Paramount+ 45 days later) on July 23.
Snake Eyes will tell the origin story of one of the franchise's most popular characters, the Joe’s famous black-suited and silent ninja, Snake Eyes, while also exploring his love/hate relationship with Koji’s Storm Shadow (who later s the evil agents, Cobra). Although Snake Eyes wrapped in February 2020, it has experienced many delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the film Golding described as “insane” has now begun its marketing push. The short yet action-packed trailer released yesterday, highlighting the impressive action sequences and the long journey Snake Eyes will travel to finally dawning his iconic helmet. According to its star, Snake Eyes is not only “insane,” but it will leave you wanting more.
In an exclusive interview with us here at Screen Rant, Golding talked all things G.I. Joe, and more specifically, all things Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. In the interview, Golding discusses how the film portrays the famous relationship between Snake Eyes and Scarlett (Weaving). The actor mentions that Scarlett is introduced “as the go-between” between Snake Eyes’ Arshikage clan and the Joes and that she “fills us in on some very important information.” According to Golding, their relationship starts like most, “the initial meetings,” before teasing their possible romantic pairing by explaining they “can blossom that into any way we can.” However, even more interestingly, the star of the film teases that by the end of the film, audiences will be asking themselves: “Where’s the rest of it? I want more.”
“We are introduced to Scarlett as the go-between between the Joes and the Arashikage. So, she is the agent that we come across that fills us in on some very important information. And, of course, in turn we work together to figure out what the hell is going on. The relationship starts off, as any relationship in this movie, as the one right at the beginning; the initial meetings. Where that unfolds, we can blossom that into any way we can. But I'll tell you, leaving the end of this movie, it's just like, "Where's the rest of it? I want more. Tell us everybody's story the way that you told Snake Eyes."
The tease of wanting more could just go down as the star simply promoting his film, but the comment stems from how Snake Eyes explores and shows other characters in the G.I. Joe universe, such as Scarlett. So the hope for fans of the franchise is that alongside Snake Eyes, important characters like Scarlett and Storm Shadow will be fleshed out and carry a lot of intrigue as well, allowing the new universe to naturally develop from that fan interest with more projects. Hasbro and Paramount are clearly banking on Snake Eyes to succeed in launching this new universe, as they are already reportedly planning a new film and a Lady Jaye Amazon series, which will connect to the G.I. Joe universe. So the hope post-Snake Eyes will most certainly be that audiences “want more.”
Snake Eyes’ short trailer makes it difficult to gage how strong and in-depth the actual story will be, but it definitely ticks the action boxes and the statement that the film is more of a martial arts film. The film also seems to carry an intensity in its tone that was severely lacking in the cookie cutter installments that came before Snake Eyes. Hopefully, in addition to some breathtaking action, the Snake Eyes film will deliver a compelling origin story that, like Golding said, leaves audiences wanting more sequels and other G.I. Joe-related projects.
