Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Masters of the Universe (aka He-Man)

4/12/10 - Mike Finch and Alex Litvak, who wrote the upcoming Predators reboot, have been brought aboard a project based on Mattel's Masters of the Universe toys, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Columbia Pictures picked up movie rights to the 1980s property in the fall.  The addition of Mike Finch and Alex Litvak is the first major move on the movie, and signals the project is being rebuilt from the ground up. Depending on the property, writers and directors need to get a thumbs-up from the studio, which then has to win approval from the toy company.  In their pitch, the scribes attempted to balance a treatment that would convince the studio it was cinematic and keep the toy company satisfied that its characters were being portrayed appropriately.

9/10/09 - Warner Brothers and Mattel will be parting company on Masters of the Universe, a new live-action reinvention of the signature Mattel toy line that WB and producer Joel Silver have been developing since 2007, Variety reported; 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.

5/13/09 - Warner Brothers and Silver Pictures have tapped newcomer Evan Daugherty to pen the latest draft of Grayskull, the studio's big-screen take on Mattel's Masters of the Universe cartoon and toy line, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  John Stevenson is attached to direct the adaptation of the show, which follows a blond warrior named Prince Adam who, when uttering the magic words "By the power of Grayskull—I have the power!" transforms into the heroic He-Man. He and his allies—Battle Cat, Man-at-Arms and Orko—defend their planet, Eternia, from the evil forces of Skeletor, who seeks to conquer the fortress Castle Grayskull.  Warner sees the big-screen version as a gritty fantasy and re-imagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia, the trade paper reports. There Skeletor has raised a technological army and is bent on eradicating magic. Justin Marks wrote the previous draft.

1/30/09 - Warner Brothers and producer Joel Silver have set Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson to make his live-action directing debut on Masters of the Universe, a re-imagining of the signature Mattel toy line, Variety reported.  He-Man is a brawny prince who transforms into a warrior who becomes the last hope for a magical land called Eternia, which is being ravaged by technology and the evil Skeletor.  Silver is producing through his Silver Pictures banner. Mattel's Barry Waldo will be executive producer.  WB acquired the property in 2007, and Justin Marks wrote the first draft of the script based on a story he developed with Neil Ellice.  The Mattel property became iconic by way of the 1980s cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and the property was previously turned into a campy flop by Cannon Films in 1987, with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frost/Nixon star Frank Langella as the villainous Skeletor.

12/31/06 - Producer Joel Silver is developing a new film version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for Warner Brothers. Justin Marks is set to write the script.  The franchise has been reimagined by the producer and the writers and pitched to Mattel as a classic good-vs.-evil battle, using the kind of visual effects strategy employed in 300. A warrior is touted as the last hope of a magical land called Eternia, which is being ravaged by technology and the evil Skeletor.

AlienAlmanac.com  -  Living Among You Since 2004