Bumblebee director Travis Knight is on the precipice of unlocking the gates of Castle Grayskull. According to a trade report, Knight is Amazon’s top choice to helm the long-gestating live-action Masters of the Universe film that would put Mattel’s He-Man on the big screen for the first time since 1987.
After Mattel debuted its Masters of the Universe toy line in 1982, Filmation produced He-Man & The Masters of the Universe, one of the decade’s most popular animated series. Though it only ran for two seasons, the property led to spinoffs, reboots, Dolph Lundgren‘s aforementioned film and revivals such as Kevin Smith’s Netflix series. The vast mythology of the franchise has expanded in other media as well, with multiple comic book series having been created over the past 40 years. The characters, locations and catchphrases are etched in the brains of children of the 80s and have taken on a new life through memes, providing Amazon with the opportunity to market Knight’s new film to a wide age range.
Amazon MGM studios has been in negotiations to acquire the rights to produce a live-action Masters of the Universe film since 2021 when Netflix bailed on their attempt to get one off the ground. That project was based off a script by David Callaham and Adam and Aaron Nee and it looks as though the new version will be getting a fresh script by Chris Butler. According to the trade report, Knight’s version will see a young Prince Adam sidelined on Earth for two decades before returning to Eternia to face off against Skeletor and find out that he does indeed have the power.
Source: Deadline
