Masters of the Universe, a film based on the He-Man Mattel toy line, has been in development for years. Attempts to get a movie made in 2008 with Kung-Fu Panda director John Stevenson didn’t work out at Warner Bros., so Columbia picked up the project.
Very little has been heard since 2010 when Mike Finch and Alex Litvak, writers of Predators, were hired to write the script. However according to Deadline the movie is still alive and Jon M. Chu is in talks to direct.
Chu is currently converting G.I. Joe: Retaliation into 3D and is preparing for reshoots, so if he boards Masters of the Universe production probably won’t get going until sometime next year.
Masters of the Universe follows Prince Adam, a warrior who turns into He-Man and is given the task of defending his planet Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor, whose desire is to conquer the fortress Castle Grayskull. Fantasy superhero-type films are always considered a challenge, but hopefully Marvel’s recent success with Thor will give Columbia some pointers as to what works and what doesn’t.
