IP is king and studios will milk that IP for all its worth even if there’s not much interest in moving forward from audiences. Folks out here aren’t clamoring for another G.I. Joe or to know the backstory of Snake Eyes, but they’re going to get both. At least they’ll have a handsome and charming lead actor in the role as THR reports that Henry Golding has signed on to play the mysterious ninja. Per THR, the script, written by Evan Spiliotopoulous, “is said to center on Snake Eyes seeking revenge for his father’s death by joining ninja clan, in the process finding acceptance.”

In the past two G.I. Joe movies, Snake Eyes’ face was never seen, he never spoke, and he was played by stuntman Ray Park, so he could do cool flips and stuff. He’s also mortal enemies with Storm Shadows, a ninja who is also his blood brother and presumably will factor into the plot of this spinoff somehow.

Robert Schwentke, who made two bad Divergent movies before the studio abandoned ship on that franchise and, will helm the Snake Eyes spinoff with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner producing.

Personally, I’m not opposed to Henry Golding being in big action blockbusters. But he could probably do a lot better than the dregs of a G.I. Joe franchise that isn’t going to be revitalized with a boring journeyman like Schwentke at the helm. Golding should be at the forefront of something new and exciting instead of the fumes of a dead franchise that’s only continuing because Viacom needs to justify to its shareholders that they’re not wasting the G.I. Joe IP.

If you’re looking to see Golding in more exciting movies, he’ll next be seen alongside Emilia Clarke in Last Christmas and he’s also co-starring in Guy Ritchie’s next picture, The Gentlemen.

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Image via Universal Pictures
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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Warner Bros.