G.I. Joe: Retaliation

[GeneChing]

'G.I. Joe': RZA Joining Sequel (Exclusive)
D.J. Cotrona is another newcomer to the cast, which is led by Channing Tatum.
June
27
7:59 PM 6/27/2011 by Borys Kit



Two more actors are going Joe.

Rapper-turned-actor RZA and D.J. Cotrona, best known as one of the cast members of TV’s Detroit 1-8-7, are in negotiations to board Paramount’s new G.I. Joe movie being directed by Jon M. Chu.

Other than Channing Tatum, the Lorenzo di Bonaventura-produced action movie is coming back with a whole new cast with Dwayne Johnson and Elodie Yung among the newcomers to the franchise.

Cotrona will play Flint, a Joe soldier best known in the toyline and 1980s comics for his shotgun and beret.

RZA will play a martial arts master named the Blind Master who in the past trained Joe commandoes Snake-Eyes and Jinx (Yung).

Cotrona, repped by UTA and the Schiff Company, appeared in 2010’s weepie Dear John with Tatum and also starred in NBC’s short-lived drama Windfall.

RZA’s credits include American Gangster, The Next Three Days and Repo Men, and stars as the title characters in The Man with the Iron Fists with Russell Crowe. He is repped by ICM and Joe Carlone management.

Elodie stole my heart in District B-13: Ultimatum

[GeneChing]

I skipped the first G.I. Joe. Maybe I'll catch it someday. This looks like it has more ninjas...

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Exclusive Premiere Trailer [HD]

[BakShaolinEC]

i am a huge gi joe fan. i have all the old marvel comics (real american hero and special ops.) the dvd's. had a lot of the figures when i was a kid.

but the first movie wasn't gi joe. i went in there expecting my memories to be raped an abused like hasbro did to so many of the transformer fans. and boy was it. it wasn't too bad because i was expecting it.

but everything else aside, the action in the first one was awesome.

the 2nd one though. this **** looks amazing. even has cobra commander in a throwback to his old suit.

[doug maverick]

yea A team reboot looks good...the rock as mr. T, channing tatum as face, bruce willis as hannibal...but why is murdock dressed like a ninja?

[GeneChing]

There are more photos from the toys if you follow the link. I'm only cut&pasting the RZA one.

So They Invented a New Martial Art for G.I. Joe 2
Who will be a master of the secret art of... Battle Kata?
February 12, 2012
by Scott Collura

In the increasingly strange world of Hollywood/toy company synergy, it was mega action-figure maker Hasbro that revealed a not necessarily huge plot point yesterday from Paramount's upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation: A "new" martial art has been invented for the film, and it's called Battle Kata!

Not necessarily huge, no, but geeky and fun, yes. It seems that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's character Roadblock was trained in the form by none other than Snake Eyes, and it's a combination of martial arts and "military fighting." Or something. Basically, it involves lots of cool, interchangeable weapons based on sort of brass knuckles that the user can attach different pieces to (for example, eject your guns, attach your swords in one easy step!). This is of course perfect when you're a toymaker looking for props to replicate and sell from a hit movie!

Other G.I. Joe Retaliation items unveiled at Toy Fair yesterday included an action-figure version of RZA himself as the kung-fu sage Blind Master, Bruce Willis looking kind of constipated as the original Joe, and, of course, The Rock as Roadblock.

[doug maverick]

if it wrong that i want these toys? lol

[GeneChing]

...but I gave up on G.I. Joe dolls after they stopped having kung fu grip.

Jon Chu On Why 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Will Be Nothing Like 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'
The Huffington Post Mike Ryan First Posted: 02/13/2012 3:45 pm Updated: 02/13/2012 11:33 pm

In 2009, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was financially successful enough to gross over $300 million worldwide. What "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was even more successful at, however, was alienating fans (which includes this reporter) of the G.I. Joe series. Though fun (at times), that movie does not resemble G.I. Joe. At all. Director Jon Chu wants you to know that "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" -- the sequel to "Rise of Cobra" starring Bruce Willis and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- is nothing like its predecessor.

On Monday, at the American International Toy Fair, I had the chance to speak with Chu, who -- as opposed to the first film's director, Stephen Sommers -- considers himself a G.I. Joe fan. I consider myself a G.I. Joe fan, too. Here's how that (slightly nerdy) conversation -- involving the new Cobra Commander, the possible return of Destro, and how a famous G.I. Joe comic book story, "Silent Interlude," fits in with the new film -- all went down.

I love that your favorite characters are Firefly and Grunt. I feel Grunt is a very "circa-1982" character.
[Laughs] I'm not sure that he's my favorite character, but I do love Grunt. To me it was in the cartoons and things like that, he would just appear randomly.

The comic book did a whole issue devoted to him leaving G.I. Joe.
Yes! That's right. But Firefly, come on; how can you deny Firefly?

He does get short changed. I think because the Firefly and the Storm Shadow action figures were originally released at the same time. People love Storm Shadow. But I did hear that Firefly being in this movie was your doing...
Yep. One of my favorite characters and I had to have him in this movie. We do a different take on Firefly -- no doubt -- so he's not exactly the "Firefly" Firefly that we know. But he's a force to be reckoned with. He's a bad-ass and he still kicks some serious ass.

You're a G.I. Joe fan. In a perfect world, would you rather have just rebooted this franchise from scratch considering the first movie is nothing like G.I. Joe?
Yeah, I mean, for any filmmaker you want to start with nothing.

But Stephen Sommers didn't know anything about G.I. Joe and you do know a lot. That has to be a difficult to step into.
It's hard, but I think everybody felt like we wanted to do a sort of re-attitude toward the movie. And that's part of the tradition of G.I. Joe, that it reinvents itself every several years. So it's sort of inline with what had been done, you know, whether it was in the cartoon or if they changed the theme song to another theme song. To me, all of those different transitions are what makes G.I. Joe so great.

What was the biggest hurdle that was established in the first film that you had to work around?
Oh, we had many times that we were like, "Wait, what year did that movie take place? God dang it." And we're still discussing some things. But, it's part of the challenge.

And Cobra Commander had to be an issue.
Yes, Cobra Commander was an issue. But I know we couldn't lose Cobra Commander.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not in this movie. Under the mask, is this the same character that Levitt played?
No. [Smiling] But we figured out a way that's pretty nice. And you get the Cobra Commander that you've always wanted. Or, to me, what I always wanted: a bad-ass villain. He's one of the most iconic villains ever. I'm even following him on Twitter -- he's so funny.

Was that one of your first commands as director? "Cobra Commander has to look like Cobra Commander."
Yeah, definitely, no doubt. That and no lips on Snake Eyes. And no laser guns. And as much real, physical stunts as we can. I don't want to shoot on a green screen. Of course we had to do some green screen, but, for the most part, we got to shoot a lot of practical stunts.

Will this more resemble the Larry Hama comic book or the animated series?
You know, I always see the Joe kingdom as three different eras. The original twelve-inch Joe --

Which Bruce Willis represents...
Yes. And then the Larry Hama comic book. And then the cartoon. The last movie I see as more like the cartoon version. I think we're more like the comic book.

Did you read the comic at all?
Yes. I wouldn't say that I'm an aficionado on all of it. But, yes, for sure.

It's an interesting story: how Cobra runs an entire town called Springfield.
And I love all of the Cobra "cover companies," things like that. We do a couple of things like that in the movie to help show that Cobra's organization is growing.

And we may see Destro?
[Smiling] You may see a little glimpse of Destro. We'll have to see. Speaking of the comic book, I love "Silent Interlude." It's one of my favorite. Obviously that changed everything for Joe. We do a little homage in our movie to "Silent Interlude." I'm very excited for the fans to see what we do with that.

The comic used bullets, the cartoon used lasers. I do feel that just hearing that the lasers are gone, it's already more like the comic.
Yeah, and just being able to see people as real human beings. Flawed human beings that get hurt and do get scratched up. And every time they make a kill they scratch little thing on there -- and you see that throughout the movie.

It seemed to work out that there were enough popular characters left to start over with that weren't used in the first movie: Flint, Roadblock, Lady Jaye...
I thought it worked better than I thought it would. I thought I'd come across like, "Well, we need Scarlett back for this thing." Or, "We need Baroness." It's really hard to make a Joe movie without Scarlett and Baroness, but we figured out a way to get through this and we we figured out other ways.

For people like me. For people who were huge fans of G.I. Joe growing up, that went to see the first movie and thought, "That wasn't G.I. Joe. Never again." What do you say to them?
I'll say, just give us another shot. That's what we tried to do with out trailer and all of the material that we're going to release is, "This is not the last movie. It's a different attitude." And just bringing Bruce Willis and Dwayne together, in itself, hopefully, indicates a change of tone and in the movie. When you have Bruce and his sense of humor, but with his real kick-ass presence. And with The Rock, he's the ultimate action hero. Bringing those two together I would hope shows that we're serious about it. Not a thing where we're just trying to get a franchise going up again.

Mike Ryan is the senior writer for Moviefone. He has written for Wired Magazine, VanityFair.com, GQ.com, New York Magazine and Movieline. He likes Star Wars a lot. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter

[GeneChing]

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Theatrical …
16 hours ago
Yahoo! Movies Videos

[GeneChing]

Am I missing something else or is this is the next major Hollywood release coming soon that is martial artsy?

‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Set Visit Preview: Gravity, Kung Fu, and ‘Yo Joe’!
by Ben Kendrick

After G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra left some moviegoers and critics underwhelmed (or possibly overstimulated), Paramount Pictures knew they needed a different approach for the sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. While the first movie, directed by Stephen Sommers, was a commercial success, it fell short of being a sure-fire franchise launch and paled in box office comparisons to the other Hasbro/Paramount team-up Transformers.

As a result, the studio, courtesy of producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, has gone back to the drawing board for their follow-up – picking certain elements from the prior film to carry into a sequel and, subsequently, trimming the aspects (and cast) that no longer fit. It was a risky gamble; however, based on the time we’ve spent on set talking to the filmmakers and previewing what audiences will see when G.I. Joe: Retaliation finally hits theaters this Spring, Paramount has given us some convincing reasons to shout “Yo Joe” again!

We’ll be publishing a full report of our time on the G.I. Retaliation set in the coming months but in anticipation of a new 3D trailer for Retaliation that is attached to Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, we’re offering our readers a sneak peek at a few conversations with the film’s stars, producer, and director – as well as snippets of behind the scenes insight.

Bruce Willis as Joe Colton in GI Joe 2

After arriving on set, di Bonaventura was the first person that we had a chance to sit down with and the producer helped provide context for the retooled approach to the G.I. Joe film franchise. Essentially, di Bonaventura asserted that following the Rise of Cobra release, the filmmakers realized that while they got a lot of things right, there was also plenty of room for improvement:

I was trying to think back when we started first talking about the fact we were going to try to, I’ll say, reenergize the cast – if anybody had really tried that in a way. I think either people abandon everything and start over or hold onto everything.

So by process of elimination or by process of feeling our way through it, came to this sort of balance. It’s interesting because, I’ve watched a lot of the footage, and it doesn’t feel like we’ve stepped away and yet we have. It’s a really interesting thing. I can’t really explain it because it was a sort of ‘feel your way through it.’ One of the things we wanted to do was we wanted to try to bring an uptick of machismo to the cast and with Rock and Bruce we sort of got a lot right there. Boom. But at the same time when you look at some of the secondary characters now, like Walt Goggins who is a great actor and he has a really fun role. Joe [Mazzello] is in there – and the RZA. I think all of those things have brought a different flavor, and at the same time, it’s Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow and we’re fighting the same battle – a new and improved Cobra.

G.I. Joe fans have already seen Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow return in the latest Retaliation trailer but, based on our time on set, viewers should prepare for their arc to be a major component in the film. Their shared origin story, told in Rise of Cobra flashbacks, set the stage for further exploration (both past and present) and it sounds as though viewers will get that chance in part two.

Discussing his role in the sequel Ray Park (Snake Eyes) promised another round of intense confrontations between the two characters:

We wanted to make it real. Like it’s two brothers fighting, there’s a lot of aggression. Instead of flashy-flashy and doing flips in the air, we wanted to tell the story throughout the fight as well. There’s a lot of good moves, a lot of great choreography that we worked on.

Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe 2 Retaliation

The larger attempt to make set-pieces “real” is a response to what many viewers described as a “cartoony” look to Sommers’ Rise of Cobra. For some, the over-the-top action in the original film was in keeping with the tone of the 1980s cartoon; however, when competing with films like Olympus Has Fallen at the 2013 box office, the filmmakers realized that they’d need, as di Bonaventura put it, “gravity.”

Or, as star Dwayne Johnson described his Roadblock character, “badass“:

It’s a lot of fun. The character is a lot of fun. You start to understand the mythology of the character, how he fits into the G.I. Joe world – and this version of Roadblock is a bit more boots to the ground badass.

Movie fans following G.I. Joe 2 development were surprised to hear that Paramount had tapped director Jon M. Chu (best known for the Justin Bieber film Never Say Never) for this “badass” sequel with “gravity.” While jumping from Bieber to Blind Master was certainly an unexpected move for the filmmaker (a popular topic in the comments of our announcement post), Chu’s love for the source material provides a fresh and honest perspective for the production. He wants to make a G.I. Joe film that he, as a fan of the franchise growing up, would want to see.

Speaking on his approach to the film, and why he believes Paramount gave him the job, Chu said:

Convincing them to hire me for the job I guess was just my expressing my passion for the characters and how we want to make it human while also grounding the characters. Make them individuals because that’s what I love. My Roadblock is MY Roadblock. [Talking about his childhood action figure] He was a person with a personality and with a different uniform than everyone else who had an arm missing and that chip in him was the cool thing about him.

french trailer for gi joe 2 retaliation

We’ll know for certain whether or not Chu’s efforts payed-off when Retaliation hits theaters (now in 3D) this spring. Closer to the film’s release date, we’ll launch our full set of interviews with the cast and crew – along with detailed descriptions of the scenes and sets we had a chance to see first hand. In the meantime, check back soon for our impressions of behind closed doors 3D footage from the final film – as well as further comments from Chu and di Bonaventura.

-

Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for more on G.I. Joe: Retaliation as well as future movie, TV, and gaming news.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation releases on March 29, 2013.

[GeneChing]

Just got this press release from a Paramount rep.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EXCLUSIVE 3D FOOTAGE OF “G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” TO PLAY IN ADVANCE OF
“HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS” IN THEATERS ACROSS THE GLOBE

THE 4-MINUTE PREVIEW WILL BEGIN PLAYING JANUARY 24TH IN
IMAX 3D, REALD 3D AND DIGITAL 3D LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

HOLLYWOOD, CA (January 23, 2013) – Paramount Pictures, MGM and Skydance Productions, in association with Hasbro, will release a 4-minute preview of the highly anticipated “G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D and digital 3D theaters in advance of Paramount and MGM’s “HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS.”

This first-look at the film will play across the globe beginning January 24th and run throughout “HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTER’S” theatrical engagement.

Based on the best-selling HASBRO characters, this follow-up to the 2009 release of “G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA,” which grossed more than $300 million worldwide, is di Bonaventura production and is presented by Paramount Pictures, MGM and Skydance Productions, in association with Hasbro.

In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra, they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. The film stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Elodie Yung, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. Directed by Jon M. Chu, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner of Hasbro, from a screenplay by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe® characters.

“G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” is in theaters everywhere March 29th, 2013.

“HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS” stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as Hansel and Gretel, who, after getting a taste for blood as children, become the ultimate vigilantes, hell bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches... their past. In addition to Renner and Arterton, the film stars Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare. Written and directed by Tommy Wirkola and produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick and Beau Flynn.

“HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS” opens in the U.S. and Canada on January 24, 2013 with show times beginning at 10 p.m.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Reason to see Hansel and Gretel?
Gemma !!

[sanjuro_ronin]

[GeneChing]

www.cobraspecialforces.com

[GeneChing]

I actually got this last week but have been too busy to post it here:

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND WWE® TEAM UP FOR
“G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” AND “PAIN & GAIN” PROMOTION

Hollywood, CA AND Stamford, Conn. – February 19, 2013 – Paramount Pictures and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced a promotional partnership to support Paramount’s upcoming feature film releases, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION and PAIN & GAIN. The cross-platform partnership includes integration opportunities on WWE programming at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event as well as appearances by film star and WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson on Monday Night Raw® and WrestleMania® 29. In addition to storyline integration on its TV broadcasts, WWE will utilize all of its assets, including live events, digital and social media to promote the films and engage millions of fans each week.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION is a co-presenting partner of Elimination Chamber with integration during the pay-per-view as well as storyline integration with stars D.J. Cotrona and Adrianne Palicki on Monday Night Raw on USA Network, leading up to the film’s release on March 29.

In the sequel to the 2009 release of G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, which grossed more than $300 million worldwide, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra, they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) and Skydance Productions present in association with Hasbro. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Elodie Yung, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner. Based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe® characters. Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and directed by Jon M. Chu. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION is in theaters everywhere March 29.

PAIN & GAIN will have a major presence at WrestleMania 29 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, April 7, and at WrestleMania Axxess, a four-day interactive WWE fan experience at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., from Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 7.

From acclaimed director Michael Bay comes PAIN & GAIN, a new action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie, based on the unbelievable true story of three personal trainers in 1990s Miami, who, in pursuit of the American Dream, get caught up in a criminal enterprise that goes horribly wrong. Ed Harris, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson and Bar Paly also star. Produced by Donald De Line, Michael Bay and Ian Bryce. Based on the Magazine Articles by Pete Collins. Screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. Directed by Michael Bay. PAIN & GAIN opens in theaters everywhere April 26.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, ParamountVantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, ParamountHome Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 600 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

[GeneChing]

New Ray Park interview.

ECCC | Ray Park — Snake Eyes Speaks!
Saturday, March 2nd, 2013 at 11:51am
by Daniel Glendening


Ray Park and Mike Jones

Ray Park is the man behind many, many masks. The Glasgow-born, London-raised actor has portrayed, among others, a Raptor warrior in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Toad in Bryan Singer’s X-Men, Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and, perhaps most notably, Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Park has brought his extensive training in martial arts to bear in nearly all of his film and television work, to great effect.

At Emerald City Comicon, fans were treated to a nearly hour-long conversation between Park and CBS Radio producer and co-host of The Danny Bonaduce Show, Mike Jones. The actor regaled the audience with stories of his early training, his struggles with acting and the joy of wielding a lightsaber.

The conversation began with Jones asking Park about his upbringing, and what led to the actor’s interest in martial arts.

“I was beaten as a child and left in a box,” joked Park.

Park went on to describe his early childhood, watching action and kung fu films. “Especially Bruce Lee,” said Park. “My wallpaper was Bruce Lee posters and Jackie Chan posters. I was idolizing these guys, and Superman and Batman — anything to do with super heroes. I grew up fantasizing and wanting to be like these guys.”

At the age of 7, Park began his training in martial arts, inspired in part by Luke Skywalker’s training, at the hands of Yoda, in The Empire Strikes Back. He began with Shaolin kung fu.

“Not really to be able to defend myself, but really just to be like a superhero,” said Park. “Everyone in the movies they could do these phenomenal things — jump out of pits and fly in the clouds and beat the bad guys, and I wanted to be like those guys.”

“My brother had pictures of cars and women in his bedroom and I had pictures of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan,” said Park. “I remember when I was 14, crying to Bruce Lee and asking him to come back from the dead and give me special powers — not a lot of people know that.”

Park began training in the art of wushu.

“Wushu is a non-contact sport, and it’s more artistic,” said Park. “But I practiced wushu because I was told: ‘If you do wushu, Jackie Chan will notice you, and you’ll get to work with Jet Li. I’m 14, don’t know anything about wushu, no one knew anything about Jet Li back in England…The only experience I got of the masters was seeing them competing, so my goal was to compete, compete, compete and try and be the best I could be…Wushu wasn’t a violent sport, wasn’t like kick boxing, wasn’t like, ‘I’m going to beat you up because I do martial arts and it’s aggressive’ — there’s more art behind it.”

Park first began working in the film industry as a stuntman, doubling for actors on Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

“When I was 21 I got on Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and it was just when I was getting sick of competing,” said Park. “It was like, ‘Okay, I want something more’ — ready to move on with the next stage of my life. I just got lucky that I was the kid that was bouncing off walls and jumpin’ off my head and doing all these crazy things.”

When Park auditioned for Phantom Menace, he found himself atypically nervous.

“I didn’t get my hopes up at all. I didn’t think, in a million years, that I’d ever get to be the guy that gets to be the guy, you know?”

Despite knowing, from the outset that the dialogue spoken by the character Darth Maul would be dubbed, Park challenged himself to deliver the lines as well as he could. Park demonstrated, to the audience’s delight, delivering the character’s lines in his thick, ****ney-tinged accent.

Jones asked Park what he felt drew fans to Darth Maul as a character.

“Darth Maul came out with a double-blade lightsaber, and he was different from any other bad guys — you could see his face,” said Park. “There was more character there, swagger and confidence, and it might have tapped in to what you already wanted a it.”

In pursuing the role of Snake Eyes, Park set aside, for a moment, his efforts to pursue broader speaking roles in pursuit of the joy of playing the character. “I’m someone who tells the story with my body,” Park said.

“It was just something inside me. As I get older, I don’t mind playing great, abstract characters where I can just — where that imagination is, I can just let that loose on my characters, you know…as long as I get to do a flip here and there, and a twirl … With Snake Eyes, I knew the history, I knew what I wanted to be with Snake Eyes. I wanted to be true to what I remember reading as a kid and growing up with, and true to the fans, as well.”

When it came time for Singer’s X-Men, Park said he was originally under consideration for the role of the flame-wielding Pyro.

“Then Bryan came back to me and said, ‘We want you to be Toad.’ Toad!”

Park hesitated to take the role, worried he’d again find himself buried under prosthetics and special effects, and not have the chance to carry the character. Singer and Park eventually, of course, found a compromise, and even worked a Darth Maul Easter egg into the film in one of Toad’s action sequences.

Several audience members were able to ask questions of Park following Jones’ conversation. One very young man stepped up to the mike to ask Park what his favorite part of playing Darth Maul was.

“One of the finest moments was when we filmed the final fight scene, and you get to see me, and the doors open — I remember walking on set…and I remember the crew looking at me,” said Park. “I had just listened to some Prodigy music — I’m psyching myself up … and I remember these people just staring, and I’m like, ‘They see me every day, why are they staring like that?’ It was the first time they saw me in the make-up, so, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready for this.’”

As the allotted time ran out, Park indulged the audience’s request for a reprisal of his ****ney Darth Maul: “I will fin’ them quickly my mastuh — Tatooine is sparsely po’ulated. No’ a lo’ o’ people, yeah?”

Photos by Andre Tan