#Henry Golding Compares Snake Eyes to Mission Impossible, Warns It’s Not a Superhero Movie

The G.I. Joe toys and the franchise that resulted from them have always seemed ripe for a live-action series. But for one reason or another, previous attempts at making movies based on G.I. Joe characters have been lackluster at best. Now, Henry Golding is set to star in a new origin movie for possibly the most popular Joe of all time, the silent badass Snake Eyes, in Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. Golding spoke to Collider about the upcoming film, and why it bears more similarities to the Mission: Impossible franchise rather than superhero films.

“It’s not a superhero film. People need to understand that these characters, the G.I. Joe universe, are normal people with extraordinary skills and who have dedicated their lives to it. So even the action is so much more grounded in reality. And somebody explained it fantastically. They’re like, it felt like a Mission: Impossible movie. Sort of the expanse and the largeness of it all and the world that we’re filming in, especially in Japan, it feels so kind of grounded and like we’re being sucked into a reality. That’s really, really not hard to believe. So I think with this teaser, it’s literally going to leave people salivating for more, so I can’t wait to release like the full trailer. And finally in the summer, people can get into the cinemas.”

RELATED: Henry Golding Believes Snake Eyes Is the Correct Way to Rebuild the G.I. Joe Franchise
In Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, Henry Golding plays the role of the titular loner, who comes across an ancient ninja clan known as the Arashikage after he saves the life of their heir apparent. In return, the Arashikage invite Golding’s character to train with them and teach him the ways of the ninja assassin.

While training, Snake Eyes becomes fast friends with fellow assassin Storm Shadow, played by Andrew Koji. Over time, that friendship turns into a bitter rivalry, as certain secrets are revealed from Snake Eyes’ past that force him into conflict with the Arashikage. According to Golding, the relationship between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow will continue to evolve throughout the film.

“There’s a beginning where they’re brothers. There’s a moment where they’re sworn enemies. There’s moments where they work together to fight an equal sort of enemy. This relationship never sort of ends and sort of peeling back those layers and discovering more. And that’s the great thing again about the origin story is we get to see the basis and to see why it’s so emotionally charged for both of these characters and at what point does it turn.”

Hopefully, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins will fare better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a similar origin movie for the most popular character of a beloved series that was intended to kickstart a new franchise, but ended up fizzling out at the box office.

Directed by Robert Schwentke, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins stars Henry Golding as Snake Eyes, Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow, Iko Uwais as Hard Master, Úrsula Corberó as Baroness, Samara Weaving as Scarlett, Haruka Abe as Akiko, and Tahehiro Hira as Kenta. The film arrives in theaters on July 23. This comes from Collider.

Topics: Snake Eyes, GI Joe, Mission Impossible