Wow, Sony has been busy as of late – they have acquired two fairly “hot” projects, the new live-action He-Man/Masters of the Universe movie, as well as the Robert Rodriguez faux-trailer-turned-full-length-feature, Machete.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Screen Rant reported that the live-action Masters of the Universe had left Warner Bros. and shed producer Joel Silver. The reason for this was reportedly because of a disagreement between WB/Silver and toy makers Mattel, about the direction the film was going in.

We heard once before that the new live-action He-Man, or Masters of the Universe, movie was D.O.A., but for the last 10 months or so it’s looked liked the film has been on track, with a director attached and more than one writer. However, even though it seems we’ll still see a new, updated version of the trials and tribulations of the muscled hero, it appears it won’t be at Warner Bros.

WB and producer Joel Silver have been developing a new Masters of the Universe for the last couple of years, but Variety is reporting that they and toymaker, Mattel, have parted ways because they weren’t able to see eye-to-eye on the direction the reinvention was going. The story (obviously) revolves around the character of He-Man, who is battling against the evil Skeletor for control over his magical homeland.

A new live-action movie of Masters of the Universe (this time entitled Grayskull) has been in the works for a long time now. The ’80s version with Dolph Lundgren, although still technically a version of it, didn’t really have much to do with the toy line of which Masters of the Universe was first created. Fans of the Mattel toy line from the early ’80s sure have been yearning for a proper, non-cheesy He-Man movie for decades now.

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.

It looks like Warner Bros.’ and Joel Silver’s big-screen adaptation of Grayskull (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, once brought to screen in the 1980s with Dolph Lundgren) is dead, and it looks like several people are at fault.

But none of them are Skeletor.

I’m a child of the 1980’s – growing up in that decade was a treat. It was the last great time of innocence. There wasn’t an Internet, there wasn’t CGI, movies weren’t aimed at the lowest IQ, and television was great. Children’s television was really great and we weren’t too distracted by video games!

He-Man was one of the great cartoons. Legend has it that Mattel toys had planned to make a toy line based on the Conan The Barbarian movie, but when the film turned out to be violent and kid-unfriendly, they decided to scrap the idea, and instead they used the molds to create He-Man. I’m not sure how true this rumor is, but it’s a damn cool one.

Dolph Lundgren starred in a cheesy 1980’s Masters Of The Universe movie that had little or no relation to the epic cartoon or toy line.

A He-Man film has been in development for years… it is one of the properties that refuses to go away. And now according to Latino Review a script has been handed in to Warner Bros and Silver Pictures by screenwriter Justin Marks that is “‘Lord of the Rings’ meets ‘The Matrix’ and a little ‘Batman Begins’ thrown in for good measure.”

That could be hyperbole, but it could also be pitch for a really good sci-fi / fantasy epic.

Okay, so I’m just another bandwagon-jumper, right? Just another ’80s geek getting my panties in a twist over a film that’s yet to start production? Well, yeah… but, hey, I’ve seen this kind of stuff get screwed up by the idiots in Hollywood enough to know there’s probably a lot of truth behind the rumor.

Oh, you’re the one that didn’t hear about this yet?

Yeah… once again, the suits have somehow managed to convince the creators that films can only work if set on planet Earth. Forget that the fantasy worlds of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings – two of the most successful franchises in motion picture history – have zero or little reference to our fair planet whatsoever. Forget that good storytelling is born of great characters, not where they live. Forget all that… because some bright spark knows better. Masters of the Universe is set to take place on Earth once again.