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G.I. Joe spinoff Snake Eyes kicks off Japanese side of production, reveals official logo
Robert Schwentke's big-budget Snake Eyes movie has kicked off production in Japan, Paramount Pictures confirmed early this morning.
The studio also debuted an official logo for the highly anticipated project. Written by Evan Spiliotopoulos (Beauty and the Beast 2017), the film will explore the secret origins of G.I. Joe's iconic (and totally tacit) ninja warrior.
At the special kickoff event for the movie, Schwentke (Flightplan, Red) promised that he and his crew would fully lean into the rich locations and culture of Japan.
“I’ve been a lifelong fan of Japanese cinema, it’s my favorite national cinema. So, to be here, and a shoot a film at all these locations all across Japan, is a great honor and it’s a great joy," he said. "I’m very excited to show American audiences and International audiences an aspect of cinema that I don’t think is in the mainstream for the most part … There’s a lot of elements that we’ve drawn out of Japanese culture and out of Japanese cinema. We have some yakuza in the film, and there’s some ningyo ideas in there, so we’re playing around with a lot of things that are very specifically Japanese, and we’re trying to get them right. I think that will make this film very very special.”
"It's an absolute honor to play such an iconic character. He's probably one of the most recognizable characters ever created," added Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), who is portraying the titular protagonist. "For us to never really see what is beneath the mask, I think it always missed something. Snake Eyes was always seen as a weapon, as almost an inanimate object. But when you get to see someone's eyes, you get to see their past, you get to see their future, you get to see the personality behind that, and so we throw it back right to the beginning and see how he progresses and how he develops into this most amazing character."
Paramount previously tried and failed to launch a G.I. Joe cinematic franchise with 2009's The Rise of Cobra. The film's box-office performance did warrant a sequel (2013's Retaliation), but despite big names like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Channing Tatum, the duology didn't spawn an entire series of big-screen adventures as the studio had hoped they would.
"It's unlike anything that people will have seen," continued Golding. "We're really starting a new timeline, a new franchise with the G.I. Joe universe. And so, to kick it off with such a distinct and stylized film, I think it really sets the precedent for follow-up movies. It's amazing to be able to tread in unexplored territory ..."
This fresh attempt co-stars Samara Weaving as Scarlett, Úrsula Corberó as The Baroness, Iko Uwais as Hard Master, Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow, Steven Allerick as Snake Eyes' Father, Takehiro Hira, and Haruka Abe.
Snake Eyes will stealthily enter theaters everywhere on Friday, Oct. 23. To help get you excited, you can check out all of the images from the start of production in the media gallery below ...
