Robert Schwentke, who directed two installments of the Divergent sci-fi action movie series, has been tapped to helm Paramount’s G.I. Joe spinoff pic centering on the popular character Snake Eyes.
Evan Spiliotopoulos, the writer of 2017’s Beauty and the Beast and 2016’s The Huntsman: Winter’s War, penned the script, and Brian Goldner is among those producing the feature based on the Hasbro toy line.
Snake Eyes is the silent ninja commando that first appeared in the 1980s as part of Hasbro and Marvel Comics’ relaunch of the toy line, dubbed G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The character, who dresses in all black, never reveals his face and never speaks, stood out among the military anti-terrorist group and quickly established himself as the most popular. He had a special relationship with Scarlett, for a while the team’s only female member, and sometimes carried out solo missions with his pet wolf, Timber. His sworn enemy is Storm Shadow, a ninja who is also his blood brother.
Schwentke is known for his action and thriller résumé, with RED, Flightplan, R.I.P.D. and the Divergent films among his credits. In a change of pace, he last directed The Captain, a German-language black-and-white World War II drama about an German army deserter who dons the uniform of a Nazi captain, creating a new identity and succumbing to the rank’s dark power.
Schwentke is repped by WME, LBI, and Jackoway Tyerman.
