G.I. Joe is one of the great all-time toy properties. Its success as an animated series and comic book are equally impressive, but the Real American Heroes have not had the same luck at the box office. The first two G.I. Joe movies failed to captivate audiences and speak to the longtime fans of the franchise.
The Snake Eyes solo movie may change all that. Starring Henry Golding as the mysterious Joe, the movie looks to improve on the first two. There are plenty of ways for it to do that.
Timber
A movie devoted to Snake Eyes would be weird without his trusty sidekick, Timber. A gray wolf from the High Sierras that Snake Eyes befriended, Timber has made appearances in just about every iteration of the franchise except for the movies.
This is something the new movie would be wise to improve on. Timber first appeared in the Real American Hero toyline in 1985, alongside the second version of Snake Eyes. That version introduced the now-iconic visor most commonly associated with the commando.
Silent Issue
One of the most famous and influential comic book issues of the 80s is G.I. Joe #21, "Silent Interlude." Known among fans as the 'silent issue,' this outstanding comic by writer and artist Larry Hama featured no dialogue or text whatsoever.
The gimmick worked very well with Snake Eyes, tasked with reducing Scarlett, a character fans want to see in the new movie, from Cobra headquarters. Snake Eyes' silent disposition is a natural part of his character and the movie would do well to incorporate some of that into the new movie.
More Nods To The Toys
It's become a tradition for elements of Sgt. Stone, a nod to the 90s G.I. Joe Extreme line, but otherwise avoided direct references to specific toys.
The second movie, Retaliation, embraced the designs and ideas of the 80s line more, but still didn't quite get there. A great way for the new film to build on those is to include direct references to some classic toys like the U.S.S. Flagg.
More Rock
Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, came into the franchise in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, taking over for Duke. The move to kill off Duke, played by Channing Tatum, was one of that movie's worst mistakes. Still, Johnson as Roadblock was fun and it wouldn't hurt the new movie to include him.
It doesn't seem at the moment that Snake Eyes will connect to the previous films in any way, but including cast from previous franchises is something the MCU is doing, so it wouldn't hurt Snake Eyes to do it either.
No Goofy CGI
The first G.I. Joe movie, in particular, leaned too heavily on CGI and a lot of it wasn't great. Rather than focus on recognizable elements from the toy line, The Rise of Cobra invented a lot of new gear that didn't make a lasting impression.
The turbo suits worn by Duke and Ripcord are cool as an idea but don't really work in execution. Snake Eyes is best off avoiding a lot of heavy use of CGI, especially if it makes the action sequences too goofy or comic book-ish in style.
Stronger Villains
The first two movies featured the biggest G.I. Joe villains in the entire franchise, including Cobra Commander and Destro. None of them came off very well. Retaliation tried to make Cobra Commander closer to his toy roots, but the damage was done.
If those characters feature in the new movie, it would be best for Snake Eyes to stick as close to the original designs as possible. There is certainly room for improvement though: the cartoon versions of the characters weren't exactly the most menacing, either.
More Storm Shadow
Ninjas are a huge part of comic books and toylines. A number of Marvel and DC characters inspired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for instance. The same is true for G.I. Joe.
Both Snake Eyes and his primary antagonist, Storm Shadow, are ninjas. Storm Shadow is one of the best things about the first two movies and he will feature in the new one. Focusing on the dynamic between the characters and highlighting the conflicted Storm Shadow will help improve the new movie from the first two.
Scarlett Romance
Big action movies tend to have a little romance and Snake Eyes could follow suit. Samara Weaving plays Scarlett in the film, one of the founding of the Joes and occasionally, the romantic partner of Snake Eyes in the comic books.
A great way to improve on the first films would be to introduce some of this romantic connection in Snake Eyes, to help round out the mysterious character. Weaving played the starring role in Ready Or Not, an awesome female-led horror movie.
Crossover
Hasbro has been angling to introducing its own version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years. The strange crossover movies that almost happened.
Snake Eyes might not be the place to stage a massive crossover between the two properties, which have mixed up many times in the comic books, but a little bit can go a long way. A subtle nod to the transforming robots could set up later movies.
No Mouth
One of the biggest issues long-time Joe fans had with the first movie was the design of Snake Eyes. The movie version was mostly faithful, with the exception of his mask having the outline of a mouth.
The design choice made no real sense and went against the established look from the toys. The second movie abandoned that and the new movie can do even better by embracing some of the toy elements even more. Lots of Snake Eyes figures exist and most of them would be much better choices than what fans got in The Rise of Cobra.
