Amazon might soon have the power of Greyskull as Variety reports it has begun talks to acquire Netflix’s Masters of the Universe film which they scrapped earlier this year.
A new Masters of the Universe has been in development hell for ages, cycling through one studio to another for the better part of a decade even as He-Man continues to flourish on TV with Masters of the Universe: Revelation and its upcoming sequel Revolution, She-Ra and the Princess of Power and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Funny enough, all four animated series are for Netflix, the same streamer who cancelled development on the live-action film which had already cast Kyle Allen (West Side Story) as Prince Adam/He-Man with The Lost City‘s Adam and Aaron Nee directing.
Amazon has begun early talks to pick up the film from Netflix with the apparent intention of continuing on from the Nees’ work with the writer/directors returning. It is unknown if Allen would return, but that appears to be the hope as well as Amazon wants to pick up pre-production from where Netflix left off.
SEE ALSO: Kevin Smith’s He-Man returns in Masters of the Universe: Revolution trailer
Masters of the Universe centers on the orphan Adam, who comes to discover he’s a prince destined to save a faraway land from the threat of the evil wizard Skeletor. First beginning as a toy line from Mattel in 1982, Masters of the Universe quickly became popular and spawned the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe followed by She-Ra: Princess of Power. A live-action film was made in 1987 which starred Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella as He-Man and Skeletor respectively and has earned a cult following among He-Man fans.
Netflix had spent $30 million in production development at the time when they decided to scrap the film. It has never been said why, but reports suggested the film’s budget had ballooned to between $150-200 million. While talks are still in the early stages, should Amazon acquire the Nees’ film Mattel and producer Todd Black will seek to have a “significant” theatrical release, something Netflix rarely ever does and even when they do they release a film on a limited one or two-week engagement before releasing it for streaming.
SEE ALSO: Cannon Films and the Masters of the Universe
What do you think of Masters of the Universe starting again? Would you like to see what the Nee brothers had in store or want to see a completely fresh take by another writer/director? Let us know on our social channels at @flickeringmyth…
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
