Confirming that social media is fast becoming a news source, of sorts, in terms of the entertainment industry, Senior Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures, DeVon Franklin, was asked via Twitter for an update on the progress of the long gestating Masters Of The Universe feature film project. In response, he tweeted a picture of the title page of the script, dated December 24th, with credit for the completed draft going to Jeff Wadlow (writer and director of Kick-Ass 2).
@danmillerNY @RoastGooble pic.twitter.com/a9whbCChXl
— DeVon Franklin (@DeVonFranklin) January 2, 2015
It was announced in April 2014 that Wadlow had been tapped to produce a re-write of the script – which had previously been worked on by Alex Litvak, Mik Finch, Richard Wenk and Terry Rossio. Though Wadlow’s directorial prowess has him highly sought after (with Marvel reportedly being among his suitors), a director for Masters Of The Universe has yet to be officially announced by the studio. The existence of a completed Wadlow draft, however, brings the project one step closer to fruition.
Masters Of The Universe originated in the early 1980s as a range of Mattel toys – each of which were sold with accompanying mini-comics that shared stories featuring the characters. There was, first and foremost, Prince Adam, who becomes He-Man when he holds his magical sword aloft. In this guise, as ‘The Most Powerful Man In The Universe,’ he must fight to protect his land – Eternia – from the evil Skeletor, who seeks to capture Castle Greyskull, gain its power, and become Master Of The Universe.
The characters spawned numerous cartoon series – including a spinoff centred on He-Man’s twin sister, She-Ra – and a live-action movie in 1987. Featuring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man, and Frank Langella as Skeletor, the film was directed by Gary Goddard. The modern iteration of the story, however, has been in development for several years, with script assignment announcements having been made as early as 2009. Though Wadlow is the fifth writer of record to have worked on the project, the only plot information that has been surmised over the years is that the film will be set on Eternia.
It remains to be seen whether the Jeff Wadlow re-write is the version to finally get this film onto the big screen, but the January 2nd tweet from DeVon Franklin is certainly an encouraging sign. Attention would then turn to the appointment of a director, with the names John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda), Jon M. Chu (G.I Joe: Retaliation), Mike Cahill (Another Earth), Harald Zwart (The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones) and Chris McKay (Robot Chicken) all having been mentioned in association with the project at various times – along with Wadlow.
Since that list of possible directors is entirely male, I’ll throw in Lauren Montgomery (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse), Mimi Leder (The Leftovers), Lexi Alexander (Punisher: War Zone), Lesli Linka-Glatter (Homeland), Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), Amma Asante (Belle) and Rachel Talalay (Doctor Who), in the interests of gender balance, and because each of those women is more than qualified.
Speculation then falls on to casting. Personally, there is nothing I would love to see more (apart from a woman directing the film), than a Nicolas Cage Skeletor – and not just because of his Ghost Rider experience. It could well be the role he was born to play. As for He-Man, hero of Masters Of The Universe himself, I’ll have to go with Kellan Lutz for the time being.
Sound off in the comments below and let us know your alternative suggestions.