In Masters of the Universe, He-Man’s nemesis is the evil sorcerer Skeletor. In Hollywood, his greatest threat is a list of studio partners who have kept him off the big screen for nearly two decades.
The blonde barbarian, based on a popular line of Mattel toys, may finally have his day. Amazon MGM Studios is in serious talks to make a live-action Masters of the Universe film from Adam and Aaron Nee, the writing and directing team behind The Lost City, according to multiple insiders. Talks with Amazon are taking place after Netflix dropped a planned version of the Nee brothers’ film in July.
Netflix spent nearly $30 million in development costs over two years on the project, which was set to star Kyle Allen (“A Haunting in Venice”). The streamer walked away when the tentpole’s budget, originally set at more than $200 million, could not be meaningfully reduced.
Amazon’s talks are tenuous, another source warns, but should the studio move forward, it will need to strike new deals with the Nees to polish the script and direct. Allen is still in the mix to star as He-Man. Mattel and producer Todd Black, who has worked on the film at several previous studios including Warner Bros. and Sony, will also be looking for a significant theatrical release – something that was not quite on the table at Netflix. Amazon, MGM and Mattel had no comment.
Like any good superhero story, this one has an antagonist that threatens its very existence. The rights to Masters are tangled in a dizzying web that stretches back more than a decade to when DreamWorks Animation bought them as part of a larger content library. Under that deal, Mattel could use the Masters characters for film adaptations until 2026, according to two sources. With DWA now owned by NBCUniversal, that means the conglomerate could interfere with any potential sequels Amazon MGM might want to develop – an essential option a producer needs when investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a big film.
NBCU and Mattel have been in talks for weeks about a possible rights extension, sources say, and may be close to a deal. An NBCUniversal spokesperson declined to comment.
Several insiders say the budget is under $200 million (about $170 million, according to one source). If the rights negotiations pan out, it would be the first big kill for Amazon’s new head of theatrical and streaming, Courtenay Valenti. Before joining Amazon, Valenti was president of production at Warner Bros, where she worked on the studio’s adaptation of Mattel’s “Barbie”. Its success, which includes $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office and Oscar buzz, may be motivating her to strike a deal for He-Man.
The “Masters” characters inspire great nostalgia in some audiences, and are the basis of a popular contemporary animated series on Netflix. Coupled with the Nees’ flair for splashy big-screen adventures (they were recently hired to develop a new take on the “Lego” movies at Universal), Amazon would be justified in its visions of a mighty franchise.
Mattel is not starving for studio partners or development properties. After Barbie, movies based on Magic 8 Ball, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket and Uno are all gestating with renewed fervour. But you’ve got to hand it to He-Man – he never stops trying to break out of the box and onto the big screen.
