Masters Of The Universe just got their master

Or director. Same thing, right? The Masters of the Universe franchise is one of those childhood things I hold near and dear to my heart, right below Battle Beasts and Transformers, just above M.U.S.C.L.E.s. And the franchise has grown up with the fans, high quality figures are produced via Matty Collector, there was a more serious cartoon series for two seasons (sadly killed before it’s time), and a thriving custom figures market. Masters of the Universe also acclimated kids into the sword and sandal genre, giving the films and stories added legitimacy at a time when most of those kids were unable to watch Conan. Despite the concept’s flaws and complete existence as a commercial for toys, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe left a mark on society.

So of course it’s time for a reboot! The original film dumped most of the mythology and set the action in modern day Earth (to save money!), and the less said about it, the better. The current film rights are owned by Escape Artists, who got excited by a script entitled Greyskull by Alex Litvak and Mike Finch. As the 80s had the best toy franchises ever and Transformers made so much money they had to print more money, of course Masters of the Universe will interest the right people. And hopefully it’s good.

Jon Chu of GI Joe 2 fame is now attached as director. GI Joe 2 looked cool from the previews, though it was ganked from it’s released date for “3D retooling”, which means either the film sucks or the production company execs suck. Either one is likely at this point. Until then, we’ll have to watch the 3D Justin Bieber movie to find out how the direction will be.