Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins star Henry Golding has opened up about how the forthcoming film will explore the lifelong camaraderie between his titular hero and blood brother Storm Shadow. Acting as a reboot of the G.I. Joe film franchise, the story explores the origins of Snake Eyes as he is trained by an ancient Japanese ninja clan but finds his loyalties tested as secrets from his past are revealed. Golding will lead an ensemble cast that includes Andrew Koji, Samara Weaving, Úrsula Corberó, Haruka Abe, Takehiro Hira, Iko Uwais, and Peter Mensah.
The live-action G.I. Joe film series began in 2009 with The Rise of Cobra, helmed by Stephen Sommers and starring Channing Tatum as the iconic Duke. Though a critical disappointment, the film was enough of a box office success to greenlight the 2013 sequel Retaliation with Jon M. Chu in the director's chair and Dwayne Johnson taking over as lead and saw a similarly negative critical reception but was a bigger box office hit than its predecessor. After years of a threequel languishing in development hell, Snake Eyes finally got off the ground in 2018, while other sequels are reportedly being scripted.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Golding discussed how the film builds the iconic camaraderie between his future hero and fellow ninja Storm Shadow. The 34-year-old actor notes that with the filming going back to "the beginning," the creative team is allotted the opportunity to build the brotherhood between them, which he believes to be "the key moving forward in this entire series." Read what Golding had to say below:
"How has that bond been so strong that they hate each other with a ferocity like no other, but at the same time later on, allow themselves to come together and fight for a cause? You know what I mean? They're the most dynamic relationship ever: one minute they're fighting with each other; next minute, they're absolutely gunning for each other. The second they're like, 'Right, let's call a peace treaty.' You don't know why that is unless you look back at what started it all, and that's what we explore. We see the building of this lifelong friendship-slash-greatest nemesis ever created in comic books."
The bond between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is undoubtedly one of the more fascinating dynamics in the world of TV and cinema that was somewhat mishandled in the first two theatrical outings. While Retaliation tried to give audiences some of the good sides of their bond as they fought together against Cobra Commander to get revenge for his uncle's murder, it had the hurdle to clear of being balanced with the larger plot of the Cobras versus the surviving Joes. Golding's comments point towards the film feeling isolated from setting up the bigger G.I. Joe universe and taking the appropriate time to develop the relationship between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow that fans have loved for years.
There are undoubtedly several other hurdles that Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins will have to improve to get the franchise on the right foot for once, but there's also a lot of good behind this film. From Golding praising the attention to cultural detail to a sequel already in the works for the film, Paramount looks to have learned their lessons from both the prior two installments and the reboot-prequel path of Bumblebee. Luckily, fans won't have to wait for long as the film arrives in theaters on July 23, followed by a Paramount+ debut 45 days later.
