While Hollywood is currently obsessed with bringing toys to the screen, a planned reboot of Masters Of The Universe has had a few problems. Until a few months ago the film was in the works at Warner Bros., but due to differences with Mattel over the direction the studio wanted to take the film, Warner dropped it and it then found a new home at Sony.
At the time many pointed at that due to the previous deal with Warner, Sony wouldn’t be able to use any work done on the reboot up to that point for its version, and would have to rebuild the project from the ground up. They’re now doing that by hiring Mike Finch and Alex Litvak, the duo who wrote the upcoming Predators, to tackle the screenplay for Masters Of The Universe.
It seems Mattel is particularly nervous about He-man, as while it feels it has the potential to be a massive on the big screen, the company was severely burned by the 1980s Dolph Lundgren Master Of The Universe movie (a film so camp it makes The Wizard Of Oz look like a lumberjack by comparison), which nearly killed off the franchise. Therefore Sony has to be careful to balance making a really cool movie with an anxious toy company that wants to ensure Hollywood doesn’t screw with the characters too much.
It’s easy to see why Masters Of The Universe has been having a relatively tough time making it back to the big screen, as it is a fairly difficult property to adapt without it seeming silly. However Sony seems to believe that Finch and Litvak are the men for the job. (Source: THR)