Is it really 22 years since Dolph Lundgren and a rubber faced Frank Langella battled for control of the Universe?
That film never lived up to the potential of the cartoon and was something of a disappointment. Having the battles raging on Earth instead of under the Eternian sky was a mistake, as was not including Orco; the result was a derivative mess and (this may be against sacred HeyUGuys lore) I didn't really care for it.
In recent years the property has fallen into the maudlin mists of nostalgia, however this has not halted the return of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to the screen and Variety is reporting that the rights to the film adaptation have moved from Warner Bros to Columbia. Those following the saga of Justin Marks' Grayskull script may be disappointed to learn that Columbia are going back to the drawing board with the movie, »

Read the full article on heyuguys.co.uk

On the same day as Mattel announced their partnership with Universal Pictures for a Barbie movie, the toy company has news on the delayed He-Man feature film.  Sony is finalizing a deal that will acquire Masters of the Universe for a live-action adaptation.
According to Variety, the story will revolve around a prince who becomes the warrior He-Man and battles the evil forces of Skeletor for control of his magical homeland, Eternia.
The property was originally set up at Warner Bros, but the studio passed on it after working with producer Joel Silver since 2007.  Mattel started shopping the movie (also being called Grayskull) around earlier this month.
The script by Justin Marks that received a lot of Internet praise unfortunately remains with WB, so a new writer will need to be hired before production can begin.  This also means the director, John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda), will probably leave after »
- Jeff Leins

Read the full article on newsinfilm.com

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 [...] »
- Liam

Read the full article on filmonic.com

It's amazing sometimes when a project refuses to die. I'm not sure who out there is actively demanding that Hollywood cough up a "He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe" movie, but obviously Mattel is determined that they are going to make one happen no matter what. For a while, that looked like it was going to happen at Warner Bros, where Justin Marks and Evan Daugherty both took shots at writing drafts of the script.  I was interested in the hiring of John Stevenson ("Kung Fu Panda") as director, as one of that film's strongest visual elements is the use... »

Read the full article on hitfix.com

Sony's Columbia Pictures is set to feel the power of Grayskull by taking on the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film that was scrapped by Warner Bros.
Sony is finalising a deal with toymakers Mattel and producers Escape Artists, reports Variety. Mattel owns the He-Man rights, having launched the franchise in the 80s with a range of toys which was adapted into the popular animated series.
A He-Man film had been in development at Warner Bros since 2007, with John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) attached to direct. However, Mattel was unable to agree on the creative direction with the studio and producer Joel Silver and the project was dropped earlier this month.
Sony and Escape Artists' Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch will now develop the live-action fantasy film from scratch.
The earlier scripts, by Justin Marks and Evan Daugherty, belong to Warner Bros so a new »
- David Bentley

Read the full article on blogs.coventrytelegraph.net

As if the dirge accompanying this summer's blockbusters wasn't enough a whole slew of sweet-tooth for-the-dollars films were mentioned in the online pages of Variety today in three separate stories announcing sequels, reboots and more films based on toys. First comes word Universal Pictures has made a deal with Mattel to build a live action film around, Barbie, its signature toy line. Producer Laurence Mark said the next step will be to canvas writers and decide a creative take for a family-friendly movie based on the popular doll. Perhaps I should go review the recently released Barbie and the Three Musketeers for future reference. I wonder if Aqua will be called in for the title track.
Next comes news that Sony has stepped in where Warner Bros. stepped out and is finalizing a deal to produce a bigscreen adaptation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the popular action »
- Brad Brevet

Read the full article on ropeofsilicon.com

I'm being mocked in the MTV newsroom for my excitement over this news, but I don't care. He-Man is a badass, and not because his alter-ego -- Prince Adam -- is named like my name. That's not the only reason anyway. No. He-Man is a badass because he rides a Battle Cat and talks to his magical sword and still wins the day every time. He was also brought to life by Dolph Lundgren in the first movie adaptation of the Mattel toy line, and you just don't mess with that man.
Don't count on Lundgren coming back for the long-gestating second attempt at an adaptation, which has finally found a home with Sony, according to a report in Variety. Sony is partnered with Escape Artists, with the project being led by producers Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, who intend to start "from scratch."
"He-Man" had previously been »
- Adam Rosenberg

Read the full article on moviesblog.mtv.com

You would think that with all that Greyskull Power, the “Masters of the Universe” adaptation could get off the ground but its been struggling since 2007 where Mattel was trying to develop it with Joel Silver at Warner Bros.  Unfortunately (if you’re a He-Man fan), Silver and Warner Bros. couldn’t come to an agreement on the creative direction of the film and I find that surprising because I didn’t think a “Masters of the Universe” movie could have a creative direction.  The project had gained some momentum with Justin Marks (”The Legend of Chun-Li) writing a screenplay for director John Stevenson (”Kung Fu Panda”).  Now that the project is at Sony, co-producers Escape Artists will have  Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch start over from scratch.
For those that don’t know, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” is based on a cartoon and toy-line about »
- Matt Goldberg

Read the full article on collider.com

Poor He-Man. What’s a Conan-rip-off (homage?) aimed at younglings to do when he’s evicted from his home and have nowhere to go? That’s the problem Mattel’s project, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, faces right now as Warner Bros. decided to let their option lapse, changing their focus to the development of DC Comics superheroes.
Warner Bros. and Mattel have been battling over the direction of the film for some time and it is expected that Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson will stay with the project as it looks for an investor. Producer Joel Silver will be exiting the project.
The film was intended to be another live-action version of the famed ’80s toyline and was tentatively titled Grayskull. The original big-screen adaptation was 1987’s Masters of the Universe which starred stage star Frank Langella as Skeletor. He went on the play Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon. »

Read the full article on examiner.com

After a raging battle between cgi animation powerhouses Dreamworks and Disney’s Pixar, a victor has finally been announced. Dreamworks has latched onto the project of The Leaf Men with Ice Age director Chris Wedge helming the pic. The feature will be written by scribe James V. Hart and it is under Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios. The children’s book turned animated feature originated with Wedge jumping from Fox over to Pixar, but once the jump was turning into final negotiations, Fox could not let go of the property. Since then, Wedge has taken up author William Joyce’s children’s novel and came back to the original production company. William Joyce has previously worked with Chris Wedge on projects such as Robots and Ice Age.
The book that is fully entitled The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs was written and illustrated by William Joyce in 2001 under Harper Trophy Books. »
- Melissa Molina

Read the full article on atomicpopcorn.net