First Official Images from SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS, First Look at Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Scarlett and the Baroness
As shown in EW's exclusive first-look photos, Henry Golding stars as the lead of
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, which delves into the beginnings of this mysterious figure. "It was one of the reasons why we picked the backstory [of] 'How did he become Snake Eyes?'" producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura mentions. "It allows him to talk, which was very helpful."
It's also beneficial to see Golding outside the Snake Eyes helmet, which is typically always fixed on the character's head. Always. But you just don't hide the silver-screen good looks of the 34-year-old
Crazy Rich Asians star behind a feature-less mask.
Directed by Robert Schwentke and set to premiere in theaters (yes, theaters) this July 23, the film sees the man who will eventually become Snake Eyes as a scarred individual. Without getting into too many details, di Bonaventura says, "His life has now been completely and utterly affected by this scar." It's in this state, as he's "driven by the wrong motivations," where he's taken under the wing of Tommy (
Warrior's Andrew Koji), better known to
Joe fans as Storm Shadow, a member of the Arashikage ninja clan.
Facing three trials in order to be inducted into the clan will also see Snake cross paths with Akiko, played by Haruka Abe (Disney's live-action
Cruella), whom Golding calls "phenomenal in this film" and will "really pop."
Golding did the work. He mentions five-hour sessions of choreography every day, followed by an hour and a half of one-on-one training, and then "a solid two-and-a-half hours of script work." That wasn't an issue. When he was first in talks for the role, it was important to him that they didn't make "a cookie-cutter movie." "Myself and Robert, we went for lunch and I was like, 'It has to be different. It has to feel fresh,'" he recalls.
After making movies like RED, Allegiant, and The Captain, Schwentke took an approach to Snake Eyes that paid homage to his love of Japanese samurai movies, especially chanbara (sword-fighting films). "We had one green screen set and the rest was all practical," Golding says. "I think the film really has this link with martial arts."
Production brought in Kenji Tanigaki, a stunt coordinator and director on movies like Legend of Seven Monks and Enter the Fat Dragon. And, of course, some of the cast members, including international martial arts megastar Iko Uwais (The Raid, Wu Assassins) as Hard Master, also know how to execute physical feats. (Uwais in Snake Eyes "isn't a huge role," says di Bonaventura, but he's "so much fun.")
Samara Weaving (
Ready or Not,
Bill & Ted Face the Music) appears in the film as Scarlett, one of the original members of the G.I. Joe team. Actress Rachel Nichols once played the character in the
Rise of Cobra film. Now, Weaving's iteration will be drawn into Snake's story after he "gets his nose into something," di Bonaventura explains, which then also brings in The Baroness.
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