KICK-ASS 2 director, Jeff Wadlow, has finally completed his pass at the script for MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. Wadlow joined the project last April, and as the picture from Senior Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures Devon Franklin shows, he took over from previous drafts by Alex Litvak & Mik Finch, Richard Wenk, and SHREK writer Terry Rossio. I remember back in the day when John Woo expressed interest, along with his idea for gun toting TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Alas, both seem to have gone in different directions.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE will be based on a series of toys and cartoons from something called the 1980s. They followed the adventures of Prince Adam, a man with less disguise technique than Clark Kent, who could transform into the mighty He-Man. Other names considered were Bloke-Dude and Guy-Possessor of Penis. He-Man must fight the evil Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, the former being a skeleton man and the latter being an evil woman named Lyn. Names weren’t the most original thing in this franchise.
There is still no word on a director for the project, although it may very well be that Wadlow will also fill that role. Other directors included in the past are the likes of John M. Chu, who impressed with another toy/cartoon adaptation in the insanely enjoyable G.I. JOE: RETALIATION. Gary Goddard, director of the 1987 version of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE has made a theatrical film since, so it would be nice to see him return to the limelight.
1987’s MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, didn’t exactly please fans though, as it saw our heroes journey from a fantastical land to our very own dull Earth, where a young Courtney Cox mourned the death of her parents. However, the ugly creature assassins sent after He-Man were particularly awesome and disturbing, and felt like a genuine threat. I had all but two of the original line of He-Man toys, and would spend weekend upon weekend playing with the figures of action. Will this latest take be enough to have me collecting the toys again? I hope so.
Source: Devon Franklin’s Twitter