By; John M Jerva

If this year had ran normally, then we would have already seen the new GI JOE prequel and soft reboot film Snake-Eyes: GI JOE Origins but alas we all know that this year nhas been anything but normal and the nfilm has been delayed for another year to October of 2021. That doesn’t mean that we can’t talk about the film and hype it up every chance we get and that is exactly what I’m going to do as the star of the film Henry Golding got the opportunity to talk about it while promoting the upcoming drama  Monsoon.

Golding spoke with Entertainment Weekly and discussed the film’s Samurai influence and also praised director Robert Schwentke for being a true “Japanese cinepehile,” and stressed that the director was influenced by “everything from [Akira] Kurosawa to just the phenomenal Spaghetti Westerns of samurai movies.”

Golding had an opportunity to view a cut of the film and had earlier reported that it was amazingand said the following on Twitter:  “Holy hell. This is the exact opposite of the cookie cutter, super people movies. Wow. You guys are in for something insane, I can’t wait for you all to get your [mitts] on this beast. Yowzers!!!! Literally grinning from ear to ear.” Golding also went into more detail about Schwentke the movie and what we can expect.  

“He is so hooked into that history and we see some of those scenes,” Golding said. “With some of the fight scenes there are some chimbara sequences. A lot of attention to cultural detail was put into this movie. There are not a lot of movies that are allowed to film in Japan and we went to some amazing, amazing places. The authenticity is there. It’s always odd coming off of big productions.

Golding also elaborated on his experience filming the spin-off. “I was on Snake Eyes for like six months. We were in Vancouver previous to Japan. My wife [Liv Lo] comes out and she spends a long time with us wherever I am. Going from 100 miles an hour to a complete still, dead stop, it is pretty jarring. But we’ve actually really been enjoying exploring California. All the producers at Paramount really listened to my opinion, the opinion of others, and I think that’s why it’s going to be so special. It’s definitely been a challenge in creating something fresh and new, but I think we definitely achieved it.”

In the interview, Golding also touched upon what makes this movie different from the other GI JOE films in the poast.  “I think the heart of the story really is who Snake is and his journey as a person, really. Understanding his motivations. Compared to other hero-centric blockbusters we’ve seen, I can’t give away too much, but it really focuses on the one person instead of having 20 people on screen and understanding background. We start from the beginning. And, hopefully, this launches an amazing franchise.”

Snake-Eyes is said to be a prequel to the orginal duo of films and aims to be a soft reboot of the franchise which has been successful money wise but has taken hits from critics and fans a like. The movie boasts an awesome cast that inludes Warrior’s Andrew Koji who is playing Storm Shadow as well as Iko Uwais as The Hard Master. Othercast members include Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) as Scarlett, Úrsula Corberó (Money Heist) as Baroness, Haruka Abe as Akiko, Takehiro Hira as Kenta and Steven Allerick (The Expanse) as Snake-Eyes’ father.

I have been very vocal about being a fan of GI JOE as well as Snake ever since I was a kid and was excited to hear that he would be getting his own movie. As much as I liked the other two flms, I always would think of what it would be like to see a stand alone movie about the legendary ninja commando and now it’s a reality. With the talent involved, I’m hoping for off the reservation fight sequences and from Golding’s reaction to the cut, i think I’m going to like what I eventually see.

Unfortunately we have a long wait as Snake-Eyes: GI JOE Origins is now set for an October 22nd, 2021 release but maybe we will get a teaser trailer soon to wet our appetites. Keep it locked and loaded right here as we are your destination for everything action!