Original Snake Eyes Actor Shares His Thanks for Getting to Play the G.I. Joe Character

There may be a new Snake Eyes in town, but Ray Park — the actor behind the previous iteration of the live-action character — has nothing but nice things to say about his successor. After reports surfaced earlier this week that Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding was in negotiations to play the character in a Snake Eyes spin-off, Park took to Instagram to share a heartfelt video with fans, thanking them for supporting him.

Park appeared as the mercenary in both G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, though the character never spoke a word in either film. With Golding being a bigger name in Hollywood, it's likely the Snake Eyes prequel will take a much different route with the character.

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It’s been a pleasure to play a character twice in a Hollywood big budget movie that was part of my childhood and influenced me throughout. NINJA LIFE! Thank you @paramountpics @lorenzo_di_bonaventura #erikhowsam #stephensommers #bobducsay @jonmchu #actionman #gijoe #snakeeyes #thankyou NINJA SITH LIFE!

A post shared by Actor Ray Park (@iamraypark) on Aug 14, 2019 at 8:17pm PDT

As it stands now, Snake Eyes is being billed as a spin-off prequel of sorts, so it will presumably follow the continuity of the initial two G.I. Joe films. Hasbro has taken its sweet time during the development of this movie, not afraid to push it back several times to get things right. Snake Eyes was originally set for a March 27, 2020 release date though that's since been pushed back to Octobor. Filming is expected to begin on the film in the coming weeks.

Park had previously revealed he was contracted for three films, though it's unlikely that third film will surface with Golding in the role.

"I'm in a different state in my life now then I was before," Park said in a prior interview. "I'm a lot fitter, I'm older, I'm wiser I think, and I'd like to bring that to Snake Eyes...I was signed on for three movies, and I would like to do the third one. I'd like to finish it. I've been hearing these rumors about [G.I. Joe vs] Transformers, so I emailed Lorenzo and said hey, I'd love to be Snake Eyes again; just let me jump in and audition!"

Snake Eyes is set to be directed by Divergent alum Robert Schwentke from a script by Beauty and the Beast scribe Evan Spiliotopoulos.

What other G.I. Joe spinoffs do you think should be made? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Snake Eyes is scheduled for release October 6, 2020.