The recent Snake Eyes trailer achieved the impossible: making a G.I. Joe movie seem like an exciting prospect again. It helps that it’s fronted by the toyline/comic’s coolest character, and that he’s played by rising star Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians).
An origin story that reboots the series, Snake Eyes delves into the masked ninja’s past, particularly his friendship turned rivalry with Storm Shadow (Andrew Koji). From cage fighter to Arashikage clan member, Snake Eyes will also cross paths with the worlds of Cobra and G.I. Joe on his road to becoming the character we know.
“He’s the most iconic character of the whole mythology,” says di Bonaventura of Snake Eyes. “This whole movie is about these two young men [Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow] trying to find their position in life; starting as friends and ending as rivals. This is before Snake has joined the Joes so we’re seeing him join the clan, but we’re also seeing him without his mask, and hearing him talk, as a real character. Henry Golding stood out for us because he can do the physical stuff but he also has such charisma.”
“For this film, we’re celebrating the Japanese culture in a way that really imbues it with a sense of ageless beauty,” adds Golding. “But we’re putting Asian heroes at the forefront.”
Snake Eyes opens in the US on July 23, before opening in the UK on August 18. For much more from the set of the film, check out the latest issue of Total Film – featuring Dwayne Johnson’s Jungle Cruise – when it hits stores and digital outlets this Friday, June 25.
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