After a couple of largely forgettable (and unsuccessful) G.I. Joe live-action movies, 2021's Snake Eyes was meant to relaunch the franchise. Instead, it too was a critical and commercial flop.
However, if Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' ending is any indication, the last hope for these characters on screen will be to pair them up with the Autobots to fight the Decepticons. It's an undeniably exciting prospect and while only time will tell how that goes, many fans would love to also see the Real American Hero on the small screen.
Way back in 2010, it very nearly happened as part of an animated TV series pitched by Fun Publications as a Transformers: Rescue Bots-style spin-off titled G.I. Joe: Adventure Team. Evan Gauntt was enlisted to create the artwork below, with the idea being to convince Hasbro to put a new - toyetic - spin on these characters.
Night Shining, the company that used to license the G.I. Joe franchise, shared details with Seibertron.com (via Toonado.com) and explained:
"An internal pitch that was made to Hasbro back in the mid 2010’s. With the brand having direction issues, the current team at Night Shining (who use to work for the official G.I.Joe licensee) made this pitch. It brought together 1970’s Adventure Team G.I. Joe with the concept of the 1980’s ARAH. This concept was pitched as a mix of appeal to the Rescue Bots and Transformers Prime audience. Basically, what cartoons use to be in the 80’s!"
Putting the spotlight on a young Cobra Commander, Destro, and Baroness with future G.I. Joe's set to make weekly appearances, it was pictured as a prelude of sorts to the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon from the 1980s.
However, to make this a little more palatable to younger viewers, the show's heroes wouldn't have battled terrorists and were instead going to embark on adventures to protect natural wonders. M.A.R.S. (the company owned by Destro) would have remained a threat, while we'd have even seen a young Snake Eyes in action.
The project never came to fruition and we've yet to see another G.I. Joe animated series on our screens. Of course, that may change with Skybound Entertainment involved and both those characters and the Transformers now part of the same "Energon Universe."
The G.I. Joe franchise debuted in the 1960s and revolves around an elite military team, G.I. Joe, combating the terrorist organization Cobra. The team, featuring iconic characters like Duke and Snake Eyes, defends global peace against Cobra's evil plans.
You can check out some of the concept art from this scrapped G.I. Joe series below. More can be found at Seibertron.com.