With his appearance as Hard Master in Snake Eyes marks a major turning point in his career by casting Uwais in his first mentor role.
A native of Indonesia and practitioner of the indigenous martial art Pencak Silat, Uwais made his film debut in the 2009 hit Merantau, which also marked the directorial debut of Gareth Evans. Their 2012 follow-up The Raid: Redemption and its 2014 sequel The Raid 2 would become a pair of instant action classics and would set a new bar for martial arts films. Though Uwais was infamously underutilized in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he would continue to astonish in action movies that made full use of his abilities as a martial artist.
In 2017, Uwais jumped from amnesiac anti-hero in Headshot to human freedom fighter opposing an alien invasion in Beyond Skyline, and later took on villainous duties in 2018's Wu Assassins: Fistful of Vengeance also on the way. With Snake Eyes, Uwais' has finally transitioned to the hallmark of martial arts movies that is the mentor role.
Whether it be Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow into the ninja warriors G.I. Joe fans know and love them as.
It's also something of a two-for-the-price-of-one package, with Uwais becoming a mentor in what is also his first ninja movie. By all indications from the marketing, Snake Eyes is heavy on the Ninjutsu action audiences expect with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow as its leads, while Uwais has been relatively held back in the marketing. Regardless, Iko Uwais has finally gone from student to teacher in Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, establishing him as a genuine legend of martial arts films.
