Snake Eyes Storm Shadow actor doesn’t like previous GI Joe movies

Andrew Koji, who will play Storm Shadow in the prequel to GI Joe Snake Eyes, says he didn’t like the previous films but hopes to bring something new.

Snake Eyes: Origins of GI Joe Star Andrew Koji, who plays the highly skilled ninja Storm Shadow, apparently didn’t like the previous two films in the franchise for being mediocre action flicks, although he hopes to turn that around with his performance. The beloved 1980s toy line and TV cartoon didn’t inspire the box office blockbusters Paramount was hoping for. 2009 GI Joe Rise of the Cobra, with Channing Tatum and 2013 GI Joe: Retaliation, along with Dwayne Johnson, both critically underperformed. In an effort to reinvigorate the franchise, Paramount decides to reboot the film series with Snake-eyes, a prequel that will explore the origins of the titular member of the GI team Joe who becomes a silent and mysterious professional.

The film, which stars Crazy Rich Asians direct Henry Golding as Snake Eyes and warrior Star Koji as his blood brother Storm Shadow began filming in Vancouver, Canada in 2019 and ended in February 2020 in Japan. Fortunately for production, they were able to finish just before the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately for the production, the silent death of theaters around the world has forced Paramount to delay the release for a full year from October 23, 2020 until October 22, 2021.

Related: Every GI Joe Character In The Snake Eyes Movie

Talk to Collider, Koji admitted that he didn’t like previous GI Joe movies, but explained his optimism about another Snake-eyes.The film will be Koji’s first big-budget Hollywood production, so he was wary of taking on a role he didn’t like. Koji said, I thought I would play this character [Storm Shadow] because I didn’t like the first two movies. I can say that. I am allowed to dislike a movie. So, I hesitated, at first, even to accept that“Koji didn’t want to portray Storm Shadow as fair”a guy with a six pack, “hoping to make him a more real and imperfect person. Additionally, Storm Shadow, who is half Japanese and half canonically American, has already been played by white actors. Koji, who is himself half Japanese and half English, was keen to give a more culturally accurate texture to the character, and by applying the experience and confidence he gained from playing inwarrior, he was able to solve his problems with director Robert Schwentke. Check out his full remarks below:

So when I spoke with the director [Robert Schwentke] about it, i said, if i want to play with him, i have to do my research on japanese culture and embrace that. I had the opportunity to do a performance in this kind of film for the next generation. My time in this business might end in a few years, but a growing kid might be able to watch this movie and see a more realistic and grounded portrayal and feel like they can act and do it. Even though it’s in ninja form, they can still bring their own humanity to it. So that was a pretty deep thing for me, just because I had a lot of reservations about it at first, but then they let me do it. I have to pay homage to these guys but it was all because of the skill I learned warrior.

Storm Shadow, real name Thomas Arashikage, is a deadly assassin who trained with his family ninja clan alongside Snake Eyes in Japan. Martial arts and Japanese culture are therefore quite vital to both characters, and Golding says the film is admirably woven with cultural detail, in part because it was actually set in Japan. Acting in a variety of ways as an ally of GI Joe and a Cobra Command agent, Storm Shadow is either Snake Eyes’ best friend or bitter enemy. There’s a lot to unbox with such a man, and Koji seems eager to do just that.

Snake Eyes: Origins of GI Joe hopes to be more than just a feast for the eyes, in large part thanks to the efforts of the production team and stars, including Koji. After seeing a cut of the film, Golding said it was crazy, far from a cookie-cutter action film. Obviously, this is more of a martial arts movie than an action movie and draws inspiration from Japanese cinema, including period pieces from Akira Kurosawa’s samurai. Koji is apparently very proud of the atypical GI Joe film the team was able to produce. Hoping that their hard work has paid off.

More: Why GI Joe Needs Transformers

Source: Collider

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