While DC and Marvel properties have gotten a good amount of releases in the Direct-to-dvd market, toy-based properties such as Transformers or GI Joe have not. GI Joe did have a couple of releases in the form of the "Spy Troops" movie in 2003 and the "Valor Vs. Venom" film from 2004. Both were CGI, but the voice acting was not so good. I thought they could use some more oomph in the film department, and then I remembered a good comic I read during Joe's days at Devil's Due Productions: the six-issue miniseries Snake Eyes: Declassified, written by Brandon Jerwa. I thought a direct film adaptation (an animated one, specifically) of this mini would do wonders for the franchise, and redeem it in the eyes of those who weren't too fond of the Rise of Cobra movie. (It also follows a pattern I've been building with my fancasts--one underrated TV show, one DC property, one Marvel property, one Not-the-big-two property, and now one toy-based property.)
Basically, the plot is Snake Eye's origin, from the death of his family upon his return home from conflict, to his days as an urban vigilante, to his time as an Arashikage ninja, and his eventual recruitment into the GI Joe team as part of its original 13-member roster. The cast is as follows:
Nathan Fillion as the voice of Snake Eyes:
Fillion has done a lot of good comic (Vigilante or Hal Jordan) or sci-fi (Mal Reynolds) roles, with Castle being his latest. Look at it this way--the only time he doesn't speak is the last act.
Daniel Dae Kim as the voice of Storm Shadow
I just thought that Kim would make a good Storm Shadow, and I'm sure most of you would figure out why. Other than that, he's had some experience with Joe, having recently lent his voice to the latest cartoon series "GI Joe: Renegades" as the voice of Tunnel Rat's older brother, Ted.
Chi McBride as the voice of Stalker
This pick was inspired by his role as Winston on "Human Target" and his upcoming role as Nick Fury in "Ultimate Spider-Man". He's pretty good as an actor.
Piper Perabo as the voice of Scarlett
I was inspired by her role on "Covert Affairs", and thought she'd be decent as the Joe team's counter-intelligence agent.
David Boreanaz as the voice of Hawk
This picked stemmed from a line in one of the comics about Hawk being one of the youngest Colonels in the army, and I thought David here did great as Hal Jordan in "Justice League: The New Frontier".
Hank Azaria as the voice of Cobra Commander
Azaria is a good voice actor, and I'm positive he could pull off doing both the trademark pipes of the nefarious leader and his pre-Cobra years self.
Serinda Swan as the voice of Baroness
I have seen Swan do wonders as Zatanna, and I think if you add an Eastern European accent to her acting, she'd be a great Baroness. (And FYI, some of the characters in the story are just starting out, so there.)
Adrian Pasdar as the voice of Firefly
I always figured Firefly had a bit of a rasp in his voice, and Pasdar here has the right rasp for the job. If he can play Tony Stark, if he can play Hugo Strange (as he did in the Young Justice episode "Terrors"), then he can play Firefly.
Donal Gibson as the voice of Zartan
Gibson I thought was magnificent as Captain Boomerang on "Justice League Unlimited", and thus I picked him to play a more reluctant version of the master of disguise.
James Hong as the voice of the Hard Master
James Hong is a very fine actor, and the Hard Master is a very 'regal' role for him.
Sab Shimono as the voice of the Soft Master
In my opinion, Shimono's take on the Soft Master would be a good contrast to Hong's Hard Master. Think of his role as Zuko's uncle on "Avatar: The Last Airbender".
Keone Young as the voice of Onihashi, the Iron Master
Keone Young I feel always gives good performances in his animated roles. Also, it'd be a good nod to him being the original voice of Storm Shadow in the old GI Joe cartoon.
Gary Cole as the voice of General Flagg
I thought Flagg would be a good role for Cole, he's done almost any role you could think of.
Additional Voices:
-John DiMaggio as Wade Collins, a Cobra Trooper, Rock N' Roll, and Master Sato, an Arashikage sensei who leads an unsuccessful coup against the Clan elders.
-James Arnold Taylor as Dickie Saperstein, a Cobra Trooper, a ninja, and Grunt.
-Paul Eiding as Snake Eye's father
-Pat Musick as Snake Eye's mother and Cobra Commander's wife
-Danica McKellar as Snake Eye's sister
-Peter Renaday as the corrupt Judge
-Rino Romano as Ramon Escobedo, a ninja, and a Cobra Trooper
-Kevin Michael Richardson as General "Iron-Butt" Austin
Ta-Da!