After having mixed success with Transformers and G.I. Joe, Paramount is trying its hand at another Hasbro toy line. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is starting to make headway in developing their Micronauts film by enlisting Dean DeBlois to write and direct.
DeBlois is best known for writing and directing DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon films. That series released its first installment in 2010 and concluded earlier this year with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Previously, DeBlois also co-wrote and co-directed Lilo & Stitch with Chris Sanders in 2002. Micronauts will mark DeBlois’ live-action directorial debut.
The Micronauts first made their way onto American toy store shelves in 1976. Their original manufacturer, Mego, based them on an existing Japanese toy line called Microman, which debuted a few years prior. The toys have been sold under a number of different brands following Mego’s collapse in the early ‘80s. Most recently, Hasbro released their own line of Micronauts figures back in 2016.
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Micronauts also got a boost in popularity thanks to writer Bill Mantlo’s Marvel comic book series of the same name. The series, which was first published in 1979, fleshed out the characters’ backstory in the microscopic Microverse. It also centered on Commander Arcturus Rann and his team’s rebellion against Baron Karza, a dictator who seized control of the Microverse.
A Micronauts movie has been in development for about a decade. Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick came onboard to write a script in 2011. However, they admitted that their version wouldn’t resemble the comics. Paramount has also indicated that they want Micronauts to inhabit a shared cinematic universe with their upcoming G.I. Joe, Visionaries, M.A.S.K., and ROM: SpaceKnight films. However, it’s not clear if this is still the studio’s plan.
Micronauts is targeting a June 4, 2021 release date.
How do you feel about Dean DeBlois writing and directing Micronauts? Which characters are you hoping to see in the film? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Micronauts Volume 1: Entropy
