Stephen Sommers’ GI Joe cast is coming together nicely. Ray Park – as Snake-Eyes – and Sienna Miller – as the villainess, The Baroness – are already on board the huge action movie, and according to Latino Review, today he added two more to the acting roster of the toy line adaptation.
Korean star Byeong Heon-Lee is in line to play Storm Shadow, bodyguard of the movie’s main bad guy, Cobra Commander (who, as you might guess, is commander of COBRA, the organisation that the G.I. Joe team must take down). But he’s a conflicted villain, switching sides several times over the course of G.I. Joe’s long history, partially due to his complex relationship with his swordbrother, Snake-Eyes.
And, further complicating the story arc for Snake-Eyes is the possible addition of Rachel Nichols as Scarlett, aka Shana M. O’Hara (so our Helen will love her), the crossbow-wielding Southern-accented token badass female of the team. She’s been romantically linked to Snake-Eyes in the comics, so it’ll be interesting to see if Sommers continues that thread, or if Nichols – who you might remember from her turn in the TV series, Alias – will be hooking up with another, as-yet, uncast character.
And there are tons of characters out there who might yet end up in the G.I. Joe film, so expect more casting announcements over the next couple of weeks (Christmas notwithstanding, of course). But if you’re a G.I. Joe fan, what do you think of these bits of casting? From Empire's point of view, having spent many happy childhood days playing with Scarlett and Storm Shadown action figures in our sink (don't ask), we can see the potential in both Lee and Nichols.
Oh, and for more on the casting and the characters that Lee and Nichols might play (as this is still an unconfirmed rumour), go over to Latino Review for the skinny.
Meanwhile, we’re mainly preoccupied with wondering if the film will be renamed Action Man or Action Force for the British market, as those were the names bestowed upon the G.I. Joe franchise when it really started to boom here in the 1980s. Again, thoughts? Should this happen?