'G.I. Joe' Spin-Off 'Snake Eyes' Back To Life With 'RED' Director Robert Schwentke
The G.I. Joe franchise at Paramount Pictures has been dormant for over five years, but the studio is looking to revamp it with a more focused spin-off that stars one of the most popular characters from the Hasbro toy line.
As we learned this past spring, Paramount is working on getting a G.I. Joe spin-off focusing on the stealthy black ninja commando known as Snake Eyes. Now they have a director lined up, with RED and The Time Traveler's Wife helmer Robert Schwentke in early talks to get behind the camera.
Snake Eyes was prominently featured in the G.I. Joe franchise and portrayed by Star Wars: The Phantom Menace bad guy Ray Park, though he never spoke and never revealed his face in order to stay true to the character's mythology. He's one of the most popular characters from the extensive line-up of G.I. Joe characters, but he's not the only ninja in the franchise. There's also the evil ninja Storm Shadow, who happens to be Snake Eyes' brother, and the two have quite the rivalry.
Though Snake Eyes doesn't seem like the best character to lead a movie, especially since he doesn't speak or show his face, the character does have an established romance with the lonely female G.I. Joe member Scarlett. Dog fans will also love him because he has a pet wolf named Timber.
You might not remember much about the last G.I. Joe movie, but G.I. Joe: Retaliation earned over $375 million globally. Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis helped give the franchise a boost after the first movie, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra earned over $302 million at the box office. However, the most memorable aspect of these movies is the action, especially this Snake Eyes scene:
So what does this new focused direction mean for the franchise overall? It appears Paramount is giving the G.I. Joe franchise the same kind of makeover that they are with the Transformers franchise by focusing on a singular character from the large toy line-up. But again, even though Snake Eyes is popular, it seems like a difficult character to frame an entire movie around unless you change some of his key attributes.
Robert Schwentke seems like a surprising choice for the movie as his last two prominent films were the less-than-thrilling Divergent sequels Insurgent and Allegiant. However, Variety notes the critical success of his 2017 movie, The Captain, and he does have RED in his past as well. Maybe he's got an interesting direction to take with the G.I. Joe franchise.
The Snake Eyes movie is being scripted by Evan Spiliotopoulos (Beauty and the Best, The Huntsman: Winter's War) and Brian Goldner is producing. There's no word on when the movie will hit theaters yet, or when production will start, but we'll keep you posted.