David S. Goyer, creator of Syfy’s upcoming Superman prequel series ‘Krypton’, has been tapped by Sony to direct a live action film version of ‘Masters of the Universe’, based on the 1980s toy line and cartoon series. The studio has set a release date for the movie of December 18, 2019.
Photo credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.comGoyer previously directed ‘Blade: Trinity’, ‘The Invisible’ and ‘The Unborn’ as well as episodes of TV series ‘DaVinci’s Demons’ and ‘Flashforward’ both of which he created. He also created the TV shows ‘Blade: The Series’ and ‘Constantine’. He served as writer on films like Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy and Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’.
He is currently working on the script for the ‘Terminator’ reboot and may still be attached to the DC films ‘The Sandman’ and ‘Green Lantern Corps’ but their status is currently unknown.
‘Masters of the Universe’ (or ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’) was one of the most popular and iconic toy lines of the 1980s and was featured in a hit cartoon series, which spawned a theatrical animated movie and a live action film directed by Gary Goddard, starring Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella and Courtney Cox.
A modern film has been in the work constantly over the years at various studios with a small army of individuals attached to write or direct. In 2012, Jon M. Chu (‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’) was attached to direct and Dolph Lundgren reported that he had been offered the role as He-Man/Prince Adam’s father King Randor, but later, Chu was no longer affiliated and other names were said to be under consideration.
In 2016, McG was set to direct and ‘Hercules’ actor Kellan Lutz revealed that he’s met with him to negotiate playing the sword-wielding hero. But in 2017, McG left the project and Goyer was brought on to retool the script.
Now it appears that the script is either complete or near completion and the the man who penned it may end up directing it.
This year, ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ stumbled at t he box office, the worst performance of an installment in this film franchise, based on another ’80s toy phenomenon. Last year, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ also flopped. Earlier this year, ‘Saban’s Power Rangers’ also sank and that was based on a more recent ’90s property. Chu’s ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ also seems to signify that modern moviegoers just aren’t interested in these nostalgia properties. (Let’s not even mention ‘Jem and the Holograms’ also directed by Chu.)
‘Masters of the Universe’ might work, but the odds aren’t great. What do you think? Are you ready to travel to Eternia with David S. Goyer?
Source: The Wrap
