FIRST LOOK: Check out Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Baroness and Scarlett from new GI Joe origins movie

While there was a lot of excitement for Mortal Kombat last month, I am really excited for Snake Eyes, as the character was a big part of my childhood and the mystery behind him always fascinated me.

And now we have the first look at Henry Golding as Snake Eyes, above, in the upcoming reboot of the GI Joe (or Action Force if you’re from this part of the world) franchise, Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins.

The movie will, according to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, allow the character to talk for the first time (hopefully it explains why he can’t when he becomes the character we know and love because a chatty Snake Eyes isn’t Snake Eyes.

“It was one of the reasons why we picked the backstory [of] ‘How did he become Snake Eyes?'” di Bonaventura adds.

The movie will also allow us to see Snake Eyes without the mask, Crazy Rich Asians star Golding explains why they didn’t go the Dredd route: “To be able to launch a franchise like that, it was just too good to be true — and especially with a character like Snake Eyes about whom a lot of people don’t know too much. They know him as this insane operator that completes missions and is an absolute weapon, but who’s the guy behind the mask and what’s his story?”

Di Bonaventura says the movie will answer old questions about the character such as who is he, what’s his name and where did he come from.

The movie also stars Warrior’s Andrew Koji as Tommy AKA Storm Shadow of whom Golding says: “They have such an interesting, forever-wavering relationship of hate and love. They love each other as brothers because they’ve been through the same thing.”

But of course, anyone who knows their GI Joe lore will know that these two are to become the franchise’s core enemies.

The movie also stars Úrsula Corberó as the villainess Baroness, left, who was, at one point, considered for her own movie: “We never developed it, but we did debate,” di Bonaventura says.

“She’s such a deliciously evil character.”

The movie also stars one of FTN’s favorite actresses, Samara Weaving, as Scarlett, right, one of the core members of GI Joe.

Weaving has proved many times in movies like Ready Or Not, Guns Akimbo and The Babysitter that she can bring her action chops alongside her acting chops, so casting her as part of the Joe team was an obvious choice.

Di Bonaventura is keen to point out that GI Joe will not be a big part of the story here but it is present.

“Both Cobra and G.I. Joe take a back seat to the internal drama of the Arashikage [Storm Shadow’s gang]  and the character [of Snake Eyes],” he said.

“They are absolutely an element, but it’s looking at it this way: You meet somebody, watch their struggle, the struggle leads to the world of GI Joe and Cobra. It does not start as a GI Joe-Cobra movie. It starts as an Arashikage movie, a Snake Eyes character arc. You come to realize the Arashikage as they’ve traditionally been are affiliated with the Joes, therefore that brings in Cobra. There is a gradual reveal that there’s a larger world here.”

I can’t wait to see this play out as Snake Eyes is a character I’ve always, as I said above, been intrigued by and his conflict with Storm Shadow was up there with Prime and Megatron, Sub-zero and Scorpion or Batman and Joker for me when I was young, so I really hope this can do that story justice.

What say you all? Are you excited for this epic conflict to get the treatment it deserves? Let me know.

Directed by Robert Schwentke, Snake Eyes hits cinemas on July 23rd.

Source: EW