Following the release of the first full-length trailer for the much-anticipated Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has opened up about star Henry Golding’s casting and the “questions” the team had about turning a Hollywood star best known for romantic comedies into an action lead.
In an interview with Empire magazine, which featured di Bonaventura breaking down several elements of the trailer, the producer revealed that the idea to make one of the franchise’s “most popular characters” and a “great enigma” initially came from the studio.
“This was the studio’s idea. We embraced it immediately but also had questions about it because I think the action audience can be very critical of people coming into it, especially people who’ve been established in a romantic comedy or lighter vein of movies,” di Bonaventura told the magazine.
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Di Bonaventura praised Golding as “a rising star” but noted hesitations about whether the actor best known as a romantic heartthrob, thanks to films like Crazy Rich Asians and Last Christmas, could be taken seriously as an action hero.
“He’s a handsome guy, no question, but when you see him in his movies, he’s a big guy, he’s tall, he’s wide, he’s got a real physical presence, which helps a lot. But you never know about that dedication,” di Bonaventura said. “Our conversation was, ‘We have to wipe the audience’s memory clean of the romantic comedy Henry Golding.'”
The Snake Eyes producer goes on to detail how the team approached that for the Monsoon and Gentleman actor within the trailer, noting that they open it “with Henry in a cage fight with a big guy.”
“In that scene, you see he’s got blood on his face, a huge guy waging a real war with him, and you immediately go, ‘Oh, this guy’s got what it takes.'”
The trailer, which currently has over 2.2 million YouTube views, features several familiar G.I. Joe faces, including co-star Storm Shadow, played by Warrior actor Andrew Koji, and agent Scarlett (Samara Weaving) and Cobra villainess The Baroness (Úrsula Corberó).
The action-packed look at the origins of one of G.I. Joe’s most prominent and beloved characters also shows off the practical stunts and fighting that drive the film.
“I would say 90-95 percent is practical,” Di Bonaventura said of the fights and stunts. “I’ve pushed for practical as much as I can in my career because I learned all the way back on The Matrix that by having Keanu [Reeves] and [Laurence] Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss learn how to fight that it was so much better. We won’t put the cast at risk, but we pushed to do what we could practically.”
The producer told Empire that Golding “put the work in” for his role — something the trailer aimed to show off.
“For us, that was an important thing to say to anyone who wanted to question whether Henry had it. You can’t really ask that question after that [opening] sequence.”
