They have been talking about doing another feature film adaptation of “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” for the longest time. The last time we heard about it John Woo was attached to direct and there were even rumors about who might star as He-Man, but none of that came to be. As for this new story out of Variety, this news was actually reported a while back but I can’t remember where so I apologize to the online source getting snubbed here.
Word is that Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver are working with Mattel to turn “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” into a live-action film with Justin Marks set to write the script. Mattel has approved the outline for the project.
Variety describes the classic ’80s cartoon saying He-Man was born as a Mattel action figure, a warrior is touted as the last hope of a magical land called Eternia, which is being ravaged by technology and the evil Skeletor. The toymaker created an animated series in hopes of selling dolls and the series became a cult favorite, but the brand was hardly helped by its first bigscreen incarnation, the campy 1987 flop Masters of the Universe that starred Dolph Lundgren as the title character and Frank Langella as his nemesis Skeletor.
Is there really a chance a movie about a half-naked buff guy riding a green tiger as he battles a skeleton? I guess a similar idea worked with 300, but I don’t anticipate a He-Man movie turning into an R-rated blood bath so we will just have to wait and see.
Variety goes on to say that the viability of the “He-Man” universe is evidenced by the traffic that has occurred since rumors of a screen resurrection hit the Internet. Contrary to Web rumor, the lead role has not yet been cast. See, told yah.
