A few weeks ago Warner Bros. and Mattell parted ways as they didn’t see eye to eye over the direction of the He-Man movie they were developing. Warner Bros. picked up the property in 2007, hired a few writers and placed Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson at the helm. However, creative differences got in the way and both parties decided not to renew the option when it ran out. Potential franchises don’t last long on the marketplace, and now according to Heat Vision Columbia have stepped in to develop the film.
Just weeks after “Masters of the Universe” parted ways with Warner Bros., the Mattel toy property is in negotiations to be preemptively picked up by Columbia with Escape Artists attached to produce.
Stevenson is no longer attached and the project would be built from the ground up.
Run by partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, Escape Artists’ credits include “The Taking of Pelham 123,” “Knowing” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
When the movie was at Warner Bros. it was described as a “gritty fantasy” and “Lord of the Rings meets The Matrix meets Batman Begins”. From these descriptions it sounded as though it was heading in the right direction, so I’m curious to find out what caused the creative differences. Will Columbia continue down the darker route or will they make it kid friendly so that Mattell can sell more toys?
