‘Masters of the Universe’ debuted in 1981 as Mattel’s response to Kenner’s booming ‘Star Wars’ toy line.  ‘Masters’ fused science fiction with fantasy and scored a major hit, which became even bigger once the syndicated cartoon by Filmation hit airwaves.  In addition to the cartoon, the property was also featured in comic books and a live action movie.  In 2002, a new cartoon, line  of toys and comics were released and eagerly embraced by its original audience, now grown adults with disposable income.  Unfortunately, Mattel mishandled the toys, marketing them like it does a child-oriented line and filling cases with He-Man and Skeletor figures and only one each of the rest.  Adults only wanted the unique characters and store pegs were choked with unwanted He-Men and Skeletors, causing the line to die an early death.  Likewise, Cartoon Network (AS USUAL) bungled the show and cancelled it relatively shortly.

Since then, despite having a loyal fan-base, the property has struggled.  An adults-only, online subscription service allowed for a new toy line and DC has quietly been publishing comics.  And a new live action movie has been suffering through development hell for years now.  ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ director John M. Chu had long been attached to the project, but recently moved on.

So now what?  Well, it seems as if Sony has compiled a list of directors that they may hand the film over to.  They include Andrés Muschietti (‘Mama’), Joe Cornish (‘Attack the Block’), Rian Johnson (‘Brick’, ‘Breaking Bad’), Phil Lord and Chris Miller (‘The Lego Movie’), and Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders (‘The Croods’).

Could this movie actually come to fruition?  I remain skeptical– partially because despite it’s devout following, the property hasn’t had a very high profile with the general public in years– but the fact that news continues to emerge must indicate that something is going on behind the scenes at least.

Are you hoping to see a new ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie?  Any casting suggestions?  Charlie Hunam would probably make a good He-Man, but he seems like he doesn’t want to become a big star, which is why he dropped out of ’50 Shades of Grey’.  Who else might make a good choice?  Comment below!

Source: Screen Rant