'Divergent' Series Helmer Robert Schwentke Will Direct The 'G.I. Joe' Spin-Off Film 'Snake Eyes'

If you happened to be asking for a spin-off from the recent ‘G.I. Joe’ movies, you’re in luck. The franchise’s popular G.I. Joe hero, Snake Eyes, is getting his own standalone movie, with Robert Schwentke in talks to direct (via Variety), who had previously helmed the last two “Divergent” films, along with other action-thrillers like “RED” and “R.I.P.D.

READ MORE: Paramount Hires A Writer For ‘G.I. Joe’ Spin-Off Film ‘Snake Eyes’

Snake Eyes appeared in both recent ‘G.I. Joe’ revamps, 2009’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and 2013’s “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” played by martial artist/stuntman Ray Park, the first and only performer to portray this character in a live-action movie, though it has yet to be announced if he will reprise the role in this standalone project. Though, to be honest, that’s not likely to happen.

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Focusing on this character may be an attempt to repurpose the series to fit in this age of superhero craze. The popular character from the franchise has a particularly similar popularity to Wolverine, the Hugh Jackman character from the long-running “X-Men” series of films, though the crucial difference is that there’s only the alter-ego and seemingly no man behind the costume, as Snake Eyes never speaks or reveals his face – an interesting characterization that should be challenging for his own movie. Nevertheless, he’s often seen as the “cool” member of the team, and popularity mostly stems from his mysterious persona (making him a blank slate for kids and adults alike to react with), as well as how much of a cool badass he is.

The project was announced by Paramount Pictures in May 2018, with Evan Spiliotopoulos (writer of “The Huntsman’s: Winter’s War” and 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast“) hired to pen the screenplay.

Snake Eyes” is scheduled for a 27th March 2020 release date.