Mike Finch and Alex Litvak, who wrote the script for the upcoming Predators reboot, have been hired by Columbia to write the script for Masters of the Universe.

In September Warner Bros. decided to let the He-Man project go after not seeing see eye to eye with Mattel over the direction of the film. Apparently Warner Bros. saw the movie as a “gritty fantasy” but Mattel, who are in the business of selling toys, wanted something different. Columbia snapped up the property soon after, and now it seems they are starting again from scratch (at WB the movie had Kung-Fu Panda director John Stevenson attached and a script written by various writers)

From HeatVision:

Getting the go-ahead to tackle any major toy-brand film can be tricky. 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 the case of “Masters,” Mattel has story approval.

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.

I liked the sound of the movie when it was at Warner Bros. and John Stevenson seemed to have a real passion for the universe. My big concern was that Columbia would make it a big dumb summer blockbuster. He-Man has the potential to be a franchise of epic proportions and I hope the writers lean towards this more than the commercial toy selling aspect.

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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?

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We haven’t heard much on the He-Man movie for a while, and now we know why. In January Kung-Fu Panda director John Stevenson was hired to direct the movie under the name Masters of the Universe. Then in May Warner Bros. hired a new writer to work his magic and changed the film’s title to Greyskull. Now Variety are reporting that Warner Bros. have decided to let the project go.

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. Story revolves around He-Man, a prince who becomes a warrior battling the evil Skeletor for control of his magical homeland.

Mattel will take back the property and set it up elsewhere. The expectation is that director John Stevenson (“Kung Fu Panda”) will remain with the project, but not Silver, who is exclusive to WB.

Apparently Warner Bros. saw the movie as a “gritty fantasy”, and this could have been why they didn’t see eye to eye with Mattel. I’m just speculating but I’m going to assume Mattel would have wanted it to make it more kid friendly so they could sell more toys. That’s their whole business plan after-all. Hopefully another studio will pick it up and do it justice, because it could be quite epic if done right.

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The upcoming He-Man movie has been given a new name and writer according to THR, who say that newcomer Evan Daugherty has been hired to write the latest draft of Greyskull.

John Stevenson (“Kung Fu Panda”) is attached to direct the adaptation of the show, which followed a blond warrior named Prince Adam who, when uttering the magic words, “By the power of Grayskull — I have the power,” turned into the heroic He-Man. He and his allies — Battle Cat, Man-at-Arms and Orko — defended their planet Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor, who tried week after week to conquer the fortress Castle Grayskull, which imbued He-Man with his powers.

Warners sees the big-screen version as a gritty fantasy and reimagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia. There, Skeletor has raised a technological army and is bent on eradicating magic.

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Last October Latino Review got word from a source that Kung-Fu Panda director John Stevenson could end up directing a live action He-Man movie. We heard nothing of it for months, until now. Turns out John Stevenson is directing!

From Variety:

Stevenson said the first film came to mind when he was asked to consider the job, and the impression wasn’t a good one. He changed his mind when he went to Mattel headquarters and was shown into a secret lair that contained the visuals created by the toymaker staff.

“There was this locked bunker that you had to be escorted into,” Stevenson said. “It was filled with art, some generated by the Mattel artists, and I looked around, and said, ‘I get it.’ We started formulating a specific vision for costumes, creatures, architecture, and the creation of a mythology and look for a whole world we’ll create.”

Waldo said that Stevenson’s vision to elevate the material matched with Mattel’s desire to see He-Man become a big studio film. Mattel has also brought its “Hot Wheels” film to WB and Silver.

“John had such passion that we found ourselves trying to running to catch up with his vision,” Waldo said.

We have no release date or dates for filming, however we will probably get that info later.

This film could actually work if done right. I hope they don’t make it too child-friendly. I know Mattell have toys to sell but a cheesy fantasy movie will not be appealing!

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One month ago Latino Review reported that the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie was dead at Warner Bros. However, now they have been told by their sources that the movie may now have a director!

According to my sources, one of my favorite projects got itself a director. Supposedly, Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson went in to the Silver offices, came in and did this killer take on He-man and the Masters of the Universe and got himself the job!

Apparently, the He-Man movie is not dead after all. I hear Stevenson’s presenation razzle dazzled the execs.

John Stevenson has spent a lot of his time in the animation and an art department, so to go from drawing characters to directing them in live action is a big step up. Latino Review tell us to expect a formal announcement soon.

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According to Latino Review, the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie is currently dead at Warner Bros.

The studio gave the execs at Silver Pictures a very small list of A-director names they would consider making the film with, amongst them Doug Liman and Bryan Singer who both passed.
There were some up and coming directors that were gung ho on the script, but the studio wasn’t feeling them.

Another reason and perhaps the biggest was that Navid McIIhargey, the exec who brought in He-Man to Silver Pictures, left the company last month to become a Senior VP at New Regency as reported last month in both trades.

Sources tell me Navid and another exec (who also left Silver) – guys in their thirties who grew up on the property – were the unsung heroes of He-Man and are no longer there doing the day to day to get He-Man over the mountain and get the movie made.

The script got onto the net a few months ago and we heard phrases such as “The perfect marriage of sorcery and science fiction” and the story was described as “Lord of the Rings meets The Matrix meets Batman Begins.”. So with that kind of praise we can only hope that Warners decides to put the project in turnaround.

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