When international action stars make the move over to Hollywood, the results are often very disappointing. And to honest, up until now The Raid star Iko Uwais has largely seen his mainstream appearances wasted in films such as Mile 22, Star Wars: the Force Awakens, and Stuber. But Uwais is a star, with legit acting skills to go along with, I think, groundbreaking talent for kicking ass. He'll get to do that next as part of the GI Joe franchise in the upcoming spinoff, Snake Eyes.
THR reports Uwais is in talks to join Henry Golding and Andre Koki in Snake Eyes, a spinoff centering on the Joe team's popular ninja warrior. Uwais would take the role of Hard Master, which I know sounds like a porn star but is really the name of Snake Eyes' tough-as-nails mentor and a legendary swordsman. In GI Joe continuity, Hard Master is leader of the Arashikage ninja clan, who is eventually assassinated with the blame falling on Snake Eyes' former friend-turned-nemesis, Storm Shadow.
Considering the role, I don't think this will be the movie that gets people to realize how legit Uwais is, but hopefully it lands him more Hollywood gigs that put him in the spotlight. The sad truth is we simply don't make those kinds of star-driven martial arts flicks anymore. The best ones are done elsewhere in the world, and we may always see Uwais in American films as a supporting player. In a perfect world, Uwais would be playing Snake Eyes rather than a character who may not survive the first hour.
Snake Eyes opens October 16th 2020, directed by Robert Schwentke.
