by the fans for the fans

‘He-Man: Masters of the Universe’ Reboot Script Update

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Jun 27, 2011 by Paul Young

In a recent interview, Sony/Columbia Pictures Vice-President DeVon Franklin gave a small update on the status of the ‘He-Man: Masters of the Universe’ script.

New information regarding the on-again/off-again He-Man movie reboot, Masters of the Universe, hasn’t exactly been flying at a whirlwind pace. In fact, the project has been in a serious state of flux over the past three years, as two directors were rumored to be attached – John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) and Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) – and the entire project moved from Warner Bros studios to Sony Entertainment.

Last year a Masters of the Universe script written by Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li) was scrapped and writers Alex Livtak and Michael Finch (Predators) were brought on board by Sony to pen a new script. Writing a script for a massive project like this must take a really long time, because 15 months later, the pair still haven’t turned anything in for review.

However, in a recent interview with online magazine Crosswalk, Sony Vice President DeVon Franklin gave a quick update on the status of the He-Man script:

“One of other things I’m really excited about is we’re doing a reboot of the 1980s franchise Masters of the Universe. The He-Man franchise. Very excited about that. Should have that script very soon. I’m praying that we can start figuring out how we’re going to make it.”

“Very soon” really isn’t a lot to go on, but producer Todd Black (Seven Pounds) told us to check back in one to six months and they should have an update by then. If it does indeed take Litvak and Finch close to 20 months to write a script, then fans of the He-Man franchise will expect nothing short of a Citizen Kane-type story. Even though the film is based on a toy line, that doesn’t mean it can’t have a great story – and as we found out a couple of weeks ago with Green Lantern, a cohesive story is essential to any film, regardless of how pretty it looks onscreen.

With 130 episodes of He-Man cartoons, plus an additional 93 episodes of She-Ra cartoons to draw inspiration from, Litvak and Finch should have no trouble putting together a great story filled with lots of intriguing characters. To help them and Sony out a bit, here are a few things to include and not include in a Masters of the Universe reboot:

Don’t rely heavily on CGI for every single costume (ex: Green Lantern).

Don’t try to tell the entire history of every character in one sitting – stretch it out over multiple films so audiences can get to know and love each character.

Do include fan-favorite characters such as Man-At-Arms, Battle Cat, Mer-Man and Orko.

Do keep the entire movie set in Eternia – Audiences have seen the “fish out of water” story of bringing cartoon characters into the modern world too much (ex: the original Masters of the Universe movie, Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks)

Other than the writers, no one else is officially attached to the Masters of the Universe project (or Grayskull as it is tentatively called), but as we get closer to seeing a finished script we expect that to change.

Hopefully this turns out okay. A He-Man movie could easily be turned into something horrible.

NEW IFNO TO ADD

Dolph Lundgren Wants to Be Involved In the ‘He-Man’ Reboot

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He-Man has certainly had a long and treacherous road back to theaters. Best known for the animated series that ran from 1983 to 1985, the Masters of the Universe franchise was previously adapted into a live-action adventure starring Dolph Lundgren in 1987, and the latest buzz now places director Jon Chu - whose G.I. Joe: Retaliation was pushed to a March 2013 release - in talks to helm the long-in-development reboot.

With buzz of He-Man’s return circulating the industry, IGN recently caught up with Lundgren and asked his thoughts on the potential Masters of the Universe reboot and if he’d be open to taking part in it.

Here’s what Lundgren had to say:

“Yeah. I think it’s a good idea. I think He-Man is a cool character, and I had fun doing [the movie]. I wouldn’t want to take my shirt off again for three months, wearing that… diaper or whatever it was I was wearing, loincloth. I’d rather play the king. But yeah, good idea. All of these old superheroes are coming back, and I’m sure that’s one that people could enjoy.”

The 54-year-old actor is probably a bit past the point of playing the title character, but a supporting role or even a cameo seems like a possibility and might help endear older fans to the new version. Plus, with his appearances in The Expendables and its upcoming sequel, today’s kids are becoming more and more familiar with Lundgren’s work as well.


Whether or not Lundgren ultimately takes part in the production, the fact that people are talking about He-Man again is a good sign for Masters of the Universe fans everywhere. With its combination of medieval influences and sorcery/magic, a revamped Masters of the Universe - minus the 1980s kitsch that likely hurt the original film’s box office - could very well tap into the same audience that has embraced Marvel’s Thor. However, with the recent relaunch (and subsequent failure) of another classic character in last year’s Conan the Barbarian, the script will have to be pitch-perfect to reach old fans and inspire new ones.

The project has already been declared dead in the past (before its rights were picked up Sony), and writers Alex Litvak and Michael Finch (Predators) are - last we heard - still at work on the script. So, those of you hoping to see Skeletor, Man-at-Arms, Teela and Evil-Lyn join He-Man back in theaters still might get your wish.