THR is reporting that Allspark Pictures/ Paramount/ Hasbro have picked their new Snake Eyes for the upcoming GI Joe spin-off film and they’ve chosen Henry Golding, star of Crazy Rich Asians and the upcoming Last Christmas with Emilia Clarke.
There are a few interesting things to point out here that could either be good or bad. Golding was great in Crazy Rich Asians and in Simple Favor with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, so I’m not worried about his acting ability. However, I am worried about his face. The dude is pretty, there’s no denying it. Traditionally, Snake Eyes is a character who never takes his mask off. I can’t see Paramount being willing to not have his face all over the film. That just gives me flashbacks of the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd compared to the Karl Urban reboot. The other issue, which doesn’t matter, but the internet is going to have fun making it matter is that (unless I’m remembering this wrong) Snake Eyes has always been a white dude from the US and his outsider status is a big part of his origin tale. They could completely retcon this, or maybe just bend the branches to take the story where they need to go, but it’s going to be interesting to see how the internet reacts.
From the sound of it, some of the mask issue will be be taken care of by the script from Evan Spiliotopoulos. According to reports, it will “center on Snake Eyes seeking revenge for his father’s death by joining ninja clan, in the process finding acceptance.” If they play this film like an inverted version of the upcoming Joker film with Joaquin Phoenix, the whole thing could end with him putting on the mask and becoming Snake Eyes. For their sake, I hope that’s not the case, because fans want Snake Eyes, not the story of how the pretty guy learned to fight and eventually became Snake Eyes.
Source: THR