According to Deadline, filmmaker James Bobin (The Muppets, Alice Through the Looking Glass) has signed on to make a movie out of Hasbro’s Action Man toy line for Paramount Players. Hasbro will produce, with Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2) writing the screenplay.
Created in 1966 as an officially licensed knock-off of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe toy line, Action Man figures were put out by Palitoy Ltd in the United Kingdom and Australia. Innovations developed for the product line such as flocked hair and gripping hands were later added to their American counterpart. Although the line took a sabbatical from 1984 to 1993, they continue production today. Throughout its 50+ year history Action Man has included standard soldiers, sailors, desert fighters, adventurers and even spacemen.
In 2012 Emmett/Furla Films signed a deal with Hasbro that will give them the film rights to Action Man, Hungry Hungry Hippos and Monopoly, though none of those came to pass.
Bobin, an English director who started his career on Da Ali G Show and as co-creator of the show Flight of the Conchords, was most recently attached to the planned Men in Black/21 Jump Street crossover MIB23, but that project has been put on the backburner at Sony for a more direct MIB spin-off film directed by F. Gary Gray.
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