Robert Schwentke, who received critical acclaim for his thriller “The Captain,” is in early talks to direct Paramount’s “G.I. Joe” spinoff, “Snake Eyes,” sources tell Variety.
Evan Spiliotopoulos, who wrote “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” penned the script.
Brian Goldner is among those producing the feature based on the Hasbro toys.
Snake Eyes is a silent ninja commando who dresses in all black, never reveals his face, and doesn’t speak. He stands out among the military anti-terrorist group and quickly establishes himself as the most popular. He has a special relationship with Scarlett, the team’s one-time only female member, and sometimes carries out solo missions with his pet wolf, Timber. His archenemy is Storm Shadow, a ninja who is also his blood brother.
The pic would mark the third “G.I. Joe” film Paramount has produced in the last decade, with the most recent one starring Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis, and bringing in $350 million worldwide.
The studio and Hasbro have since being trying to figure out a new spin for the series, even turning to a writers’ room to form new ideas. The the studio is currently rebooting “Transformers” by spinning off the popular character Bumblebee.
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Schwentke is best known for launching the “RED” series with Bruce Willis, and taking over the “Divergent” franchise by directing “Insurgent” and “Allegiant.” He most recently helmed the German World War II thriller “The Captain.”
He is repped by WME and LBI Entertainment.
