Warner Bros. and Mattel will be parting company on "Masters of the Universe," the live-action reinvention of the signature Mattel toy line that WB and producer Joel Silver have been developing since 2007.
Mattel and WB didn't see eye to eye over the direction of the project and made a mutual decision to let the option lapse this month. Story revolves around He-Man, a prince who becomes a warrior battling the evil Skeletor for control of his magical homeland.
Mattel will take back the property and set it up elsewhere. The expectation is that director John Stevenson ("Kung Fu Panda") will remain with the project, but not Silver, who is exclusive to WB.
Mattel, which still has "Hot Wheels" with WB and Silver Pictures, has become proactive in setting properties for films since aligning with CAA. Among the deals: one for Universal and Playtone to turn "Major Matt Mason" into a star vehicle for Tom Hanks, one with Paramount for "Max Steel" and one with Universal deal for a live-action musical to be based on a new toy line that aspires to add a fresh twist to monster lore, with "Hairspray" producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
I'm not sure how a He-Man movie would work with today's audiences. I remember watching the animated series and remembering how campy it was. A live-action version would definitely be cool to watch and would probably do more justice to the series than the animated series did, but I just don't see it doing good at the box office. With Warner Bros. out of the picture, I'm pretty sure Universal will be next in line to pick it up, considering they already have a several Mattel movies in the works.
4 comments:
Getting a bit tired of every cartoon I grew up with getting turned into a movie. Hopefully this one never sees the light of day.
Hollywood already screwed up trying to make a He-Man movie once, what makes them think they can get it right this time?
"I'm not sure how a He-Man movie would work with today's audiences."
Yeah, along with Hatter's comment, I can say with confidence that it would work fine, in that it would make bundles of money. If they can turn Transformers and GI Joe into commercial hits, I don't see why this would be any different.
Not that I'd be in line or anything...
True Fletch, but those movies were big budget action films that audiences go out to see since they have big action sequences. I'm not sure He-Man is as popular as Transformers or G.I Joe, but I could be wrong.
please no he-man-film. really wants to see someone? Bitte keinen He-Man Film. Will das wirklich noch jemand sehen?
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