Paramount's G.I. Joe reboot, Snake Eyes, arrived in theaters in 2021 to negative reviews and even worse box office numbers (its worldwide total came to just over $40 million), and it sounds like the writing was always on the wall for at least one principal cast member.
Andrew Koji, who played the titular character's rival, Storm Shadow, admitted that he always knew the film was destined to fail during an interview with Inverse (conducted prior to the strikes).
“After this, it could just all be downhill for me,” joked Koji when asked about his career and previous projects. “But at least for now [my experience on Warrior] makes me go, OK, I'd like to do stuff with integrity. And G.I. Joe really wasn't that, was it?”
“Hollywood is just obsessed with telling the same old thing over and again,” he continued. “Firstly, remakes. Secondly, it's got to be based on IP. Third, it's so absurd because I'm just like, hold on. People want originality. Where is it? What is going on here?”
Sure enough, the studio does appear to be setting up yet another G.I. Joe movie, with new takes on the characters teased as part of a massive crossover with Transformers in the recent Rise of the Beasts.
As for Snake Eyes, Koji is fully aware that the chances of a sequel are pretty much non-existent, although he admits that he did enjoy playing Storm Shadow.
“Snake Eyes didn't do too well, which I knew it wasn't going to. I think they're probably going to reboot from the ground up. I'm cool. I did like Storm Shadow Tommy. I found a way to love him and I think there would've been something to do … there would've been a really cool Storm Shadow film if they did it right.”
Let's hope they do get this property right on the next try, because a Transformers/Joe crossover does have a lot of potential.
Koji can currently be seen in the third season of Cinemax martial arts drama series, Warrior. The show has built a loyal fanbase, but there's been no word on a fourth season.
“The cast and crew, we’ve got no idea if we're going to go back,” Koji says when asked for an update on Warrior's status. “But I think it will all be all dependent on how much of a splash this [season] can make."