More soldiers have been drafted for the G.I. Joe picture. We get the casting scoop thanks to our friends at themoviehole:
Rachel Nichols (TVs “Alias”) and Byung-hun Lee have joined the cast of Paramount’s “G.I Joe”, according to IESB.net.
Lee has been cast as Storm Shadow in the film. The character’s described as someone with a “dark and complex history who is one of the most popular and enigmatic characters of the GI JOE universe. According to GI JOE lore, Storm Shadow was trained by the same Ninja master as Snake Eyes, a member of the elite GI JOE team, but now fights against him.” Nichols, best known for her work on action-centric series’ like “Alias” and “The Inside”, has been cast as Scarlett in the big boys’ movie. “Scarlett is one of the original members of the GI JOE team, she is skilled in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat and specializes in counter-intelligence.”
Well, I think Rachel Nichols looks like a decent pic for Scarlet. At 5’10 she is an amazonian, looks good with red hair and has a similar jaw-line to the character. Now we just need to see what she looks like holding a crossbow. She has a role in the soon to be released Charlie Wilson’s War, and I will make sure to look for her when I see the film. I am certainly happier with this casting than I was with Sienna Miller. (I am still holding out hope that they will find a superior Baroness.)
I know little of the man known as Byung-hun Lee, but from mulling over his IMDB page it looks like he has won a number of awards and has a sizable following in Asia. I am not a man that doubts the wisdom of the Asian throngs and will hope that he is popular for good reason. I am guessing that if he is set to square off against Ray Park that his martial arts skills are also supreme. If anyone knows info about this gentleman – please fill us in with your thoughts.
To date we have heard way more bad news than good from the G.I. Joe camp. I do not even know how many scripts they have chewed through now, but I really hope that this movie does not suck. I loved the G.I. Joe cartoon as a kid and have always seen the potential for a fantastic live action film. I have my fingers crossed for quality Cobra Commander and Destro castings – we will keep you posted.
