The first trailer for G.I. Joe prequel spinoff Snake Eyes was surprisingly accomplished in how it painted the reboot as a martial arts actioner as opposed to the standard running and gunning with military and sci-fi angles that defined predecessors The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation. There are still no guarantees that it’ll finally launch that lucrative franchise at the third time of asking, but the budget is reportedly much lower than the $175 million and $130 million that the last two cost, so it doesn’t have to earn as much to become profitable.
However, because the internet must complain about almost everything, there was a small but vocal minority voicing their displeasure that the title role had been recast in the handsome form of Henry Golding, when in the comic books Snake Eyes has typically always been a white guy with blonde hair. Creative license is to be expected, especially for a character largely defined by his muteness, but one of the noticeable things about the trailer was that the would-be ninja was sporting an accent that was very difficult to place.
In a new interview, Golding explained why Snake Eyes speaks in a way that makes it impossible to tell where he’s from, and it’s actually something the actor knows a thing or two about himself.
“He’s moved around a tremendous amount, and I think it’s non-distinct in where he’s from, what his kind of background is. We see flashes of his life before. And so, we need to understand that this guy has been underground, this guy’s been around.”
Golding was born in Malaysia before his family moved to England when he was a child, then he ventured back to Kuala Lumpur at the age of 21 to pursue a career as a TV host, which eventually led to a move into acting and a relocation to the United States. The Crazy Rich Asians star is clearly a man of the world, then, which is something that he’s hoping to bring to Snake Eyes in among all the requisite ass-kicking.
