Action Man is heading to the big screen, with THR reporting that Hasbro is teaming with Working Title for a feature film adaptation of the classic British toy line.
According to the trade, former Marvel Studios exec Jeremy Latcham (The Avengers, Spider-Man: Homecoming) will produce the film, with fellow Marvel veterans Simon Hatt (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and Anthony Sellitti (X-Men ’97) penning the script. The action-comedy is being described as “deeply British, with a reverence for action cinema”.
The Action Man toy line debuted in the UK in 1966 from Palitoy, and was initially a licensed copy of Hasbro’s popular G.I. Joe line of 12-inch military action figures. Discontinued in 1984 and subsequently acquired by Hasbro, the brand relaunched in the mid-90s alongside a short-lived tie-in animated series, where it dropped the military angle in favour of a more action-adventure oriented approach pitting the hero against the evil terrorist mastermind Doctor X.
News of the Action Man movie follows the recent announcement that Hasbro is reviving the character in action figure form as part of the G.I. Joe Classified Series line.