From the Desk of the Phantom: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Close to Happening; Looking at New Directors!Mark Reilly wrote:Hello Schmoeville!
Well, the time has come for me to admit something. I love HE-MAN. I grew up with the cartoon, the figures and even in my thirties, took a shot at scripting the damn thing at Silver Pictures (ask Kristian all about it).
The project moved from Silver to Legendary at one point and then, into development hell where Sony picked it up finally and got to work. That’s a lot of development for a 80′s television series.
And then… The Hollywood Reporter drops some news in October that Terry Rossio (Pirates, Lone Ranger) had been tapped to come in for some clean-up. And all the while, Jon M Chu (GI JOE: RETALIATION) was attached to direct.
Not so!
From the desk of the Phantom comes word that He-Man is now close to happening, Jon M Chu dropped out and they have now offered the picture to a bunch of VERY INTERESTING directors.
Now, bias aside, because of my love for He-Man I want to see Sony do something special with this. Believe me, I read a lot of scripts for the project that never fully captured the magic and sci-fi mix all in a great little movie package. But with these directors The Phantom is saying Sony is looking at… perhaps there is room for a good He-Man movie after all?
The names are pretty stellar in the Sci-Fi world and are as follows: Joe Cornish (ATTACK OF THE BLOCK), Rian Johnson (LOOPER), Andy Muschietti (MAMA), Kirk DeMicco & Chris Sanders (THE CROODS) and Phil Lord and Chris Miller (21 JUMP STREET).
Okay, those are a lot of directors and it could shake out in a hundred different ways. But I thought it fascinating to post for you all in Schmoeville to see the kind of things that go on behind the scenes and just how varied and lengthy a list can be.
I’ll say it now – if anyone should get this it should be Rian Johnson. I would love to see through his eyes what Eternia should be and I know we would get something special…. (script pending Rossio!).
The rest of the names are interesting but wildly divergent. I get Joe Cornish who was recently rumored to take up STAR TREK 3 from JJ so I get that… The other names, aside from MAMA’s director Muschietti, have roots in animation. If they are trying to strike a good tone for the movie and give fans of He-Man something to chew on I would stick with the first two and throw a money tree at them to get them on board. (Yes, I also endorse Cornish).
He-Man is magic and Sci-Fi – a tall order to get right on screen and with Terry Rossio writing, I am sure they are making this kid friendly and accessible to all audiences. So with a Johnson or a Cornish helming, perhaps we can get some grit and fun? My two cents.
So, Schmoeville! With a short list of directors out from Sony, HE-MAN is closer to a greenlight. Are you excited? Who out of this list of directors would you want to see take on a He-Man movie? Time will tell when and if we get an official announcement but for now… let the conversation begin. Who’s your pick, Schmoeville!?