By the power of Grayskull! Fans of He-Man are in for some good news: a live action feature based on the Mattel toy line and all the animated series might just have a new director.
Deadline reports that McG is currently in talks with Sony about creating a new Masters of the Universe live action film.
The movie would revolve around Prince Adam, a prince who learns to transform himself into a great warrior, He-Man. He lives in a world of magic that's under attack by the evil Skeletor. Although there was a movie in 1987 starring Dolph Lundgren as the prince, it was not very successful (and many still laugh at it today). However, as a cartoon, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe remains popular.
According to Deadline, Sony believes that if done properly, a He-Man franchise could become as successful as Transformers. Sony previously pegged Alex Litvak and Mike Finch to write the script for the new Masters of the Universe film, with McG currently working on a rewrite.
McG is a former music video director who directed Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Termination Salvation. He also co-created the TV series Fastlane, as well as served as executive producer on a variety tv shows, such as The O.C., Supernatural and Chuck.
The He-Man franchise began life as a series of Mattel action figures. It's often rumored that He-Man found inspiration from Conan, but Mattel adamantly denies that: the first Conan prototype was developed two years before the first Conan movie emerged. When the first action figures hit stores, a mini-comic book came with those toys to explain He-Man's origin and story.
He-Man became a cartoon in 1983, followed by a spin-off series for his sister, She-Ra: Princess of Power. In 1987, the live action film flopped, but by 1990, another animated series emerged, The New Adventures of He-Man. That series changed He-Man's transformation cry from the infamous "by the power of Grayskull" to "by the power of Eternia."
