'The Raid' Star Iko Uwais Will Teach 'Snake Eyes' The Way Of The Sword In The G.I. Joe Spin-Off

Iko Uwais kicked so much ass in the Indonesian action movie The Raid and the even more brutal sequel The Raid 2, and we're wondering why no mainstream action movie has yet taken advantage of his incredible martial arts skills to their full potential. But hopefully that's about the change, because the actor has landed a key role in the upcoming G.I. Joe spin-off Snake Eyes starring Crazy Rich Asians leading man Henry Golding as the titular ninja commando.The Hollywood Reporter has word of Iko Uwais joining the Snake Eyes cast. The comes just a couple weeks after Andrew Koji was cast as Storm Shadow, another ninja commando who also happens to be Snake Eyes' brother and arch enemy. While Snake Eyes wears black ninja gear, Storm Shadow is the yin to his yang by wearing all white. As for Uwais, he will be playing Hard Master, described as a "tough as nails" teacher who taught Snake Eyes everything he knows about being a skilled swordmaster and ninja.

The G.I. Joe spin-off, written by Evan Spiliotopoulos, will follow Snake Eyes as he sets out for revenge for his father's death by joining a ninja clan, which in turn helps him accept this tragic hand he's been dealt. That sounds a lot like an origin story, which likely means we'll be seeing Henry Golding outside of the ninja mask. After all, you don't hide a handsome face like that behind a ask.

But the story in this kind of movie doesn't necessarily need to be all that compelling. It's the action that fans will be most excited to see, and having Iko Uwais aboard this movie will also work well for the fight scenes in this movie. His martial arts skills are a big reason why the Raid movies work so well. They're hard-hitting, creative, and fast-paced action sequences that American action moves typically don't see.

Assembling a large Asian cast for this spin-off is a nice change of pace for the G.I. Joe franchise, especially after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace star Ray Park played Snake Eyes in the previous two movies. Granted, we never saw the character's face in those movies, but knowing that Park played the character did make it a little odd that his brother, Storm Shadow, was played by Lee Byung-Hun.

Snake Eyes is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner, and production is slated to take place in Vancouver and Tokyo this fall with RED director Robert Schwentke at the helm.