Check out the first trailer for Masters of the Universe
Ars readers of a certain age no doubt remember the 1980s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series (and its spinoff, She-Ra: Princess of Powers) and the many, many offshoots of this hugely popular Mattel franchise, including an extensive line of action figures. Amazon MGM Studios no doubt hopes to cash in on any lingering nostalgia with its forthcoming film, Masters of the Universe. Judging by the extended teaser trailer, we're getting an origin story for He-Man.
It's not the first time someone has turned He-Man into a feature film: Dolph Lundgren starred in 1987's Masters of the Universe, a critical and box office bomb that also featured Frank Langella as arch-villain Skeletor. Its poor reception might have stemmed from the 1987 film deviating significantly from the original cartoon, angering fans. But frankly, it was just a bad, cheesy movie, though it still has its share of cult fans today.
This latest big-screen live-action adaptation has been languishing in development hell for nearly two decades. There were rumors in 2007 that John Woo would direct a He-Man feature for Warner Bros., but the project never got the green light. Sony Pictures gained the rights in 2009, and there were multiple script rewrites and much shuffling of possible directors (with John Chu, McG, and David S. Goyer among the candidates).