Paramount has pushed the release of the G.I. Joe spinoff movie Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins to 2021. The G.I. Joe characters have been a staple of pop culture for the last several decades, and some of them are finally returning to the big screen. Paramount previously tried to launch a G.I. Joe franchise in 2009 with Channing Tatum in the lead and a sequel/reboot in 2013 starring Dwayne Johnson. Although that is where the franchise ended, the popular silent assassin Snake Eyes is now scheduled to headline his own film with Henry Golding playing the titular role.
Development on Snake Eyes moved quickly once it was announced to be in the works in 2018. Robert Schwentke was hired to direct the film at the end of the year and Golding joined in late 2019. Golding was later joined by Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow, Iko Uwais as Hard Master, Samara Weaving as Scarlett, and Úrsula Corberó as Baroness. With the film’s release date rapidly approaching, the lack of marketing for Snake Eyes brought about the possibility that it could be delayed – and now it officially has.
Paramount announced multiple changes to their release schedule due to coronavirus, and Snake Eyes has officially been pushed a full year. The movie was originally set to hit theaters on October 23, 2020, but will now be released on October 22, 2021. The year-long delay for Snake Eyes also had an impact on Paramount and Hasbro’s larger plans, as an untitled Paramount/Hasbro “Event Film” dated October 1, 2021 was removed from the schedule.
News that Snake Eyes has been delayed shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point, but the length of the delay is. The reasoning for the delay is likely tied to coronavirus and the current state of the theater industry. Paramount made the right move for the long-term prospects of the franchise by pushing Snake Eyes and it appears they are taking the extremely safe route with the delay. The studio could’ve elected to have the movie come out in the first half of 2020 to coincide with the likelihood of a coronavirus vaccine being created and theaters possibly just opening up in full force. Instead, Snake Eyes not coming out for another year should guarantee that it will come out at a point when it has the best chance to succeed.
For those who are excited for Snake Eyes, this delay will undoubtedly be disappointing, as it means the first look at the movie is likely even further away. Instead of a trailer arriving imminently, it might not be until sometime in 2021 that the first trailer drops. The other aspect of this is how it will also push back Paramount and Hasbro’s plans for other G.I. Joe movies, which they are developing several of, including follow-ups to Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. Hopefully the new movie proves to be worth the wait.
Key Release Dates
Snake Eyes
Release Date:2021-07-23
