The G.I. Joe spinoff movie Snake Eyes has found the character's trainer, with Iko Uwais cast as Hard Master. The G.I. Joe IP previously was put to the big screen a decade ago with Channing Tatum in the lead role. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra did not receive positive reviews, but earned over $300 million at the box office. Instead of doing a direct sequel, a soft reboot approach was taken with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson taking over the lead role; G.I. Joe: Retaliation hit theaters in 2013 and only saw a moderate increase financially, earning $375 million worldwide.
In order to give the beloved brand a fresh start, Paramount, Skydance, and Hasbro's AllSpark Pictures have decided that a Snake Eyes solo movie is where G.I. Joe will go next on the big screen. Robert Schwentke (Insurgent) is directing the solo film based on a script from Evan Spiliotopoulos (Beauty and the Beast). It was recently announced that Henry Golding is attached to play the silent and mysterious lead character in the origin movie.
With the movie set to explore how Snake Eyes became the expert fighter he is known to be, THR has revealed who will teach him these skills. They've revealed that The Raid star Iko Uwais has joined the project as Hard Master, who is Snake Eyes' teacher skilled with a sword and the leader of the Arashikage ninja clan. Hard Master has not only trained Snake Eyes, but also his brother and enemy Storm Shadow - who will be played by Andrew Koji.
Uwais easily fits the bill of an expert fighter who can train Snake Eyes, as he has built his entire acting career around his combat skills. He is best known for The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2, but he's also broken through to American films through Stuber, Mile 22, or his cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Most recently, Uwais led Netflix's mystical kung fu series Wu Assassins, which further highlighted his action-star ability.
The decision by the studios and creatives bringing Snake Eyes to the screen to cast Uwais hopefully means that he will be given plenty of opportunities to shine. He is certainly capable of bringing incredibly realistic and impressive fights to the screen, so it would be a big mistake to not use his full talents in Snake Eyes. With the recent release date delay to October 2020, it may still be a while before we get to see Uwais in action as Hard Master. When we do though, hopefully Snake Eyes will give Uwais a chance to stand out.
Source: THR