When Henry Golding brings the classic G.I. Joe character of Snake Eyes to the big screen in July’s Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, this will be a standalone film that has no connections to the two G.I. Joe movies more than 10 years ago. It’ll be an attempt to restart a franchise with a fresh approach centered around a rising star taking a shot at action. But that doesn’t mean that the new series can’t borrow a few tricks that worked in the earlier films.
The 2013 G.I. Joe sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation took the excitement of the initial film but doubled down on all-star action talent. Where Channing Tatum led the first film, the second film rode on the broad shoulders of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Bruce Willis and the limber Ray Park as Snake Eyes. So when CinemaBlend got a chance to speak with Henry Golding to coincide with the new trailer drop, we asked him which classic action star he’d like to bring into his Snake Eyes franchise. And he didn’t hesitate to answer:
Easy. Jackie Chan, One hundred percent. Are you kidding me? Action hasn’t been the same without Jackie and his and his stunt team. I grew up watching his films. Armour of God. His whole back catalog of movies. Growing up in Asia, obviously, he was the guy. And so to have him in any capacity, on any film, I'm one hundred percent in. Let's start that petition.
An easy answer. But also the right answer. Jackie Chan is, without question, one of the film industry’s most gifted, versatile, and miraculous action superstars. He spent decades performing his own acrobatic stunts in Asian cinema, and finally took his talents to Southern California for 1995’s memorable Rumble in the Bronx before hopping over to franchise work of his own in Rush Hour. In his prime, Jackie Chan looked like this when in action.
Mind you, Jackie Chan is now 67 years old now, and his most nimble action days are behind him. To give you an example of his current status as an action superstar, he was part of the remake of The Karate Kid… and he played the Mr. Miyagi role. Chan won’t be fighting opposite Henry Golding in a Snake Eyes/G.I. Joe movie. But even having him as some sort of mentor role, perhaps as a higher up in the G.I. Joe forces, would be enough to give Golding a real spark. It’d be a thrill for us, as audience members, too.
In order for Henry Golding to even have a chance to invite Jackie Chan for a Snake Eyes sequel, audiences have to show up for Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins first. They’ll get a shot when the movie opens in theaters on July 23.
