Storm Shadow and Scarlett cast

Latino Review has the exclusive scoop on this breaking story about the ongoing casting for the highly anticipated, at least by me, G.I. Joe movie.

Reportedly, Korean mega star, and lets assume martial arts expert Byeong-Heon Lee has been cast as the wily ninja Storm Shadow. Evil swordbrother to Snake Eyes, he is basically the most badass cool ninja villain in the world. According to wikipedia "Storm Shadow's real name is Thomas S. Arashikage (Arashi = "Storm" and kage = "shadow" in Japanese). Best known as the Cobra Commander's ninja bodyguard and assassin at times, he is the only member of the team to change sides several times, conflicted in loyalties between Cobra, G.I. Joe and his long relationship with his swordbrother Snake-Eyes. He usually wears a white uniform and mask. When out of his uniform, he is shown to be Japanese, with black hair and dark eyes."

And who, might you ask has been cast in the other role? That of Scarlett O'Hara? but Rachel Nichols of Alias, season 4 (i think) fame, and also the upcoming Charlie Wilson's War. She is pretty damn hot, and kicks ass with the best of em. At least she did hold her own against Jennifer Garner on tv. And Rachel was also recently cast in Star Trek, as the role many speculate is Janice Rand.

According to wikipedia, Scarlett "was the first female action figure in the G.I. Joe toy line and is also the only member of the original team to see much action in both cartoon and comic incarnations. The official line on Scarlett is that her full name is Shana M. O'Hara. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she is as adept with standard weapons as any of her comrades, her weapon of choice is the crossbow which fires various bolts with specialized functions. Her rank is Master Sergeant, and she serves from time to time as team leader. Her primary specialty for the team is counter intelligence and is additionally skilled in martial arts and acrobatics. Of note, her secondary military specialty remains classified in all of her file cards."

Looking at that pic I've got to say that today is a good day for the fans :)
The movie will hit theaters August 7th, '09.

UPDATE - The Hollywood Reporter had not one but two additional names of new cast members. Granted the characters probably aren't as big as Storm Shadow and Scarlett butg its cool nonetheless. Said Taghmaouim, of The Kite Runner, will play Breaker, the communications officer; and the awesome Lost Tailie who got eaten by the smoke monster last season, Mr. Eko himself, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, will play Heavy Duty, the man with the biggest guns on the team.

The role of Breaker is something I can take or leave as you will. But personally I'm a bit unhappy that they decided to go with the character Heavy Duty for this role. Originally there were a number of big beefy meatheads on the Joe force: Leatherneck, Recondo, Stalker, Bazooka, and of course my favorite Roadblock. He holds a special place in my heart not just because he was the first G.I. Joe figure I bought, but that purchasing the Roadblock action figure was the very first thing I ever did with my very first allowance ever. Now with another huge black man, carrying the heavy ordinance I have some serious doubts as to whether we'll even see Roadblock in the film.

Still, despite all that, I am excited that this film is really coming together. The rumor floating around at the moment is still that Sam Worthington is being courted for the lead role of Duke, should production on Avatar wrap with enough time. Whatever happens I'm glad that casting continues.
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