Our friends over at Latino Review recently got word that the director of one of my favorite films of 2008, the phenomenal (and seriously underrated) Kung-Fu Panda has been tapped to helm another action epic for the younger sect: A remake of 80’s cartoon hit, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
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With all the talk in recent months about which directors are going to be handling which upcoming comic/cartoon films (Captain America being the latest buzz headliner), I have to say this bit of news has me the most excited. After all I loved He-Man as a kid, and I loved Kung-Fu Panda like I was still a kid. I see Panda’s director, John Stevenson, doing great things with He-Man, if he can get it into theaters before it ends up D.O.A., again.
However, it looks as though the film is moving forward. Stevenson was seen leaving the offices of Matrix producer Joel Silver, who has been trying to get Masters Of the Universe off the ground for some time now. Word is that Silver and Co. were very impressed with Stevenson’s take on the He-Man legend, enough so to take another crack at the stalled film.
However, Stevenson’s film background is in animation and art department design, which raises some immediate questions:
Will the film still be called Grayskull?
Will the film still adhere to the Grayskull script that polarized so many critics around the blogosphere earlier this year?
Will He-Man still be a live-action adaptation? Or is Stevenson being brought on board to helm a CGI version of the film?
Personally, I’m hoping the latter is true. Having basked in the light of Kung-Fu Panda twice now (once in theaters, once in its full Blu-Ray glory), I know that Stevenson would deliver a CGI He-Man flick that would knock the socks of old and young viewers alike. I just hope Silver is keen enough to realize that his best chance for a big payday lies in CGI animation. No walking that live-action/CGI middle line that caused Speed Racer to bomb so hard.
What about you? Do you think Stevenson should try to go the CGI route with Masters of the Universe? Or should he try his luck in the ring of live-action? Let’s talk about it!
Source: Latino Review
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4 Comments
If you look at what was done to Dr. Manhattan and look at what they’re doing on “Sanctuary” and factor in what was done on the movie “A Scanner Darkly” I’d say no worries on a CGI movie. I guess the big question is how long will it take?? For some strange reason time seems to work against this property. If It’s not moving forward It’s going backward, Which I guess means It’s an uphill battle! If they ever get to the top, surely they will ride down the other side into the theater.
Kofi: IMHO, ‘SpeedRacers’ problem was the style and direction taken not the the platform. The film commited suicide with the Technicolor supernova. If the film had more of a ‘Driven’/90’s ‘007′/’Transporter’/'Cannonball Run’ style, the film could have been much more successful.All well..
Hope that J.Stevenson signs on, because that exactly the direction I’m hoping MOTU ‘trilogy’ is developed. The resent Cartoon Network upgrade would fit J. Stevenson’s KFP style like a hand in glove. The orginial MOTU was one of my favorite kid show (along with Transformers, ThunderCats,and G.I. joe), but the Cartoon Network’s MOTU elevated the world to a less cheesy/corny, more martial artish, plot-driven style.’GraySkull’ script sounds like it would make a great film. Personally I’d perfer a live-action/CGI film/trilogy (ex:LOTR trilogy, HellboyI-II, Star Wars series), but if Stevenson’s directing I’d be happy with a CGI film/trilogy just as long as the film is rated PG13. I can just see J. Stevenson in a room by himself say,”I HAAAVE THHHE POOOOWWEEER!!!”.:)
@Adrian
I agree about CN’s version. I enjoyed them a great deal and bought them on DVD. THe origin story adapted film would make for a great start to a trilogy, IMO.
“I have the POWER! Ska-doosh!”
The live action movie done back in 1987 can be learned from, most assuredly. Dumbing it down by cutting out characters, shall be forbidden. Ensuring the story holds up to the finest this property has produced and casting very good actors for the parts. I remember that a few critics saw some redeeming elements in the 87 movie, driving it’s rating up. I’d say it would be a good idea to keep what worked. The final limitation should be if they can’t do one of the fundamental aspects, whether they can’t find the proper actor, the script is no good or anything along those lines they shouldn’t do it, go with a CGI/animated version instead.
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