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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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.