Henry Golding Says Snake Eyes Is The Correct Way To Relaunch G.I. Joe Universe

“Every warrior has a beginning,” teases the first trailer for Snake Eyes, the upcoming G.I. Joe Origins film that will finally unveil how the iconic character – usually depicted as masked and silent – started out. With Crazy Rich Asians‘ Henry Golding in the lead, this is the first G.I. Joe movie on our screens since 2013. Fans might’ve expected a straight-up reboot, then, but the film’s star is confident that Paramount is going about relaunching the property the right way.

While breaking down the trailer, Golding promised that Snake Eyes will “pay homage” to the original Joe lore, with franchise guru Larry Hama contributing to its story. All in all, it offers “a brand-new start” to this universe.

“In this film, we pay homage to the classic lore that is G.I. Joe,” Golding explained. “But, of course, we updated it, together with Larry Hama, and created a brand-new start to the G.I. Joe universe.”

Golding went on to stress that he thinks the approach of focusing on a single character first, instead of kicking things off with another team-based flick, is the best route to take so that it can lay the “groundwork” for the Joes to come together at a later date. In other words, this allows for Paramount to pull off something similar to what Marvel did with the Avengers. Golding also promised that the movie will have a “cinephile feel” to it, thanks to director Robert Schwentke.

“I truly believe that how Paramount has really focused on one character to build out the universe is the correct way. We need the groundwork. We need the structural integrity to build something awesome. And I think, with Robert Schwentke helming as director, he’s given this cinephile feel to this film. It’s not just an ordinary action film. There’s so much heart, there’s so much information that’s sort of given to you in breadcrumbs that you’re just left yearning for more.”

Though Snakes Eyes is the star, a handful of other beloved G.I. Joe characters will likewise feature. Of course, Snake’s old ally-turned-enemy Storm Shadow is involved, as portrayed by Andrew Koji, and Cobra femme fatale The Baroness will be played by Ursula Corbero, with Ready or Not star Samara Weaving taking on the part of female lead Scarlett.

So far, a sequel, once again led by Golding, is in development, but more G.I. Joe Origins movies could follow based on other iconic characters like Duke, Roadblock or Sergeant Stone if this one does well when Snake Eyes hits cinemas on July 23rd.