Whatever this live-action movie was, it happened. I still haven't seen it and may never do so. I did, however, get sucked in by G.I Joe: Resolute, an hourlong animated feature that was split up into five-minute segments for airing on Adult Swim. I watched all but the last two online, and decided I'd wait for DVD to watch the rest. It's anime-styled similarly to Ghost In the Shell in general aesthetic, and it's nice and fluid. The DVD includes the whole feature uninterrupted, an interview with the series producers, the original promo that ran for the show, and some character bios.
Written by Warren Ellis, Resolute is not afraid to kill off beloved characters and re-characterize others with no care given to similarity to the live-action thing that it would be released alongside. Ellis is one of my favorite comic book writers thanks to his truly individualized voice. Even though he often writes narratives that touch on future worlds that feature more hive mind thinking and social homogenization, he will write what he writes.
If The Editor (be it literary, studio, or producer) does not like what Ellis writes, well then they can fuck right off and hire someone to rewrite it, because he's not budging. Delightfully enough, they just handed G.I. Joe to him, and he's created an adaptation of the universe that is infinitely more thrilling to me than I remember the original toy-commercial-disguise-as-a-show ever being to me as a kid.
Ellis touches on realistic terrorist threat possibilities and raises the stakes in the opening few minutes by killing someone off and nuking a major world city. He has very specific intentions and doesn't just do anything for the hell of it. If this had gone live-action, I may have given a shit about a live-action G.I. Joe movie. Adults who fondly remember the cartoon will not be disappointed in the least. Some people might miss Chris Latta's voice as Cobra Commander, but I don't. Kids might have a heart attack because for once, an action cartoon doesn't require them to be brain-dead zombies.