Sony’s Masters of the Universe live-action film has faced yet another setback as Collider reports Noah Centineo (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before), who was cast in the lead role of He-Man, has exited the oft-delayed film.
Masters of the Universe has been in development for over a decade now with many writers and directors seemingly attached only to depart the project. Centineo was cast as He-Man two years ago and though last year Sony had removed the film from its release schedule, while the studio was apparently working through a deal with Netflix to release the film on the streaming service, Centineo seemed confident Masters of the Universe would finally enter production last summer. It is likely the ongoing health crisis and Sony’s negotiations with Netflix pushed the production once again.
Masters of the Universe was set to be directed by Aaron and Adam Nee (Band of Robbers) from a script by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man). No reason has been given for Centineo’s exit as He-Man, though it could be a combination of the film’s lengthy production delays as well as his own busy schedule. Centineo is currently filming the DC film Black Adam, where he’ll star opposite Dwayne Johnson as the Justice Society of America member Atom Smasher. Centineo is also set to star in Netflix’s film about the GameStop stock trading controversy that happened earlier this year as well as a CIA spy series for the streaming service from The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman.
Though the Masters of the Universe film is once again in limbo, fans still have plenty to look forward to as Netflix has several projects from the franchise, including the animated series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power as well as Kevin Smith’s sequel to the original 1980 cartoon Masters of the Universe: Revelations and a CGI animated reboot entitled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.