For the longest time, the G.I. Joe franchise has been stuck in a holding pattern. While 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation was a box office success, the years since have not seen another project come together. That may soon change, however, courtesy of the Hasbro writers room that Paramount Pictures first put together back in 2015. Not only is the franchise's next project starting to materialize, but it looks like it will be a solo movie for fan-favorite character Snake Eyes.
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop on this development, noting that Evan Spiliotopoulos is now in talks to take care of the screenplay - his previous credits including the recent live-action Beauty and the Beast and The Huntsman: Winter's War. Beyond that, however, there aren't many firm details available just because the project seems to be in the very earliest of stages.
For those unfamiliar with Snake Eyes, he was first introduced as part of the Hasbro G.I. Joe relaunch in the 1980s, and has been immensely popular ever since. Very different than every other hero in the franchise, he not only never shows his face, but he also never speaks. He wears an all black costume, and is a trained ninja, frequently squaring off against his similarly-skilled, white costume-wearing Cobra Commander counterpart, Storm Shadow.
In both 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Snake Eyes was brought to life by Ray Park - who is the martial arts-trained actor best known for playing Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Toad in 2000's X-Men. The trade report does not mention if he will be returning for the Snake Eyes movie, or even if there are plans to have the movie be set within the established continuity. Presumably those kinds of decisions will be made once Evan Spiliotopoulos starts getting a few drafts written and they use the work to help develop the future of the franchise, which is being planned as a full-blown cinematic universe featuring other Hasbro toy brands including Micronauts, Visionairies: Knights of the Magical Light, M.A.S.K. and Rom: SpaceKnight.
Sadly, it's still very unclear when exactly this whole thing might come together, as the new report is missing those two key words: fast-tracked. Of course, our fingers are definitely tightly crossed that the studio takes its time with the Snake Eyes movie and ensures that it is as good as it can possibly be before moving forward. There's a good amount of potential present in a film about a ninja operating in a G.I. Joe world, and it would be nice to see the movie get made properly. Stay tuned for more details as it moves through development, and to see what is heading to theaters soon, be sure to check out our 2018 movie release calendar.
