The long-gestating live-action reboot of Masters of the Universe may have found its director in Bumblebee helmer Travis Knight.
According to an exclusive report from Deadline, Knight is currently in “final negotiations” to direct the new Masters of the Universe movie. However, sources say the deal is not final and certain elements are “still coming together.” Nevertheless, Knight is reportedly the “top choice.”
Deadline further reports that Chris Butler will rewrite the film’s script from a previous draft by brothers Aaron and Adam Nee. Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios is apparently in final talks to to acquire the project following earlier reports that it was pursuing the rights. Robbie Brenner will produce for Mattel, with Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal producing for Escape Artists Entertainment.
Knight made his feature directorial debut with the 2016 animated film Kubo and the Two Strings, having previously worked as an animator on Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), and The Boxtrolls (2014). (He also worked as a producer on the latter two films.) He went on to direct Paramount’s 2018 Transformers prequel/spin-off film Bumblebee. Knight is currently working on his next movie, Wildwood, which is also written by Butler.
Masters of the Universe has had a long road back to live-action
Masters of the Universe began life as a toy line at Mattel, with a popular animated series — He-Man and the Masters of the Universe — hitting the airwaves in 1983. A spin-off series, She-Ra: Princess of Power, debuted two years later. Two years after that, a live-action Masters of the Universe feature film released in theaters, starring Dolph Lundgren in the lead role of He-Man.
In the decades since, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has spawned a number of animated spin-offs, reboots, and revivals. Thus far, however, Hollywood has been unable to bring the franchise back to live-action — though not for a lack of trying.
The film developed by the aforementioned Nee brothers has already had an arduous journey. The project was previously in development at Sony, with Noah Centineo attached to play He-Man. The reboot then jumped ship to Netflix, at which point Centineo took his leave. The streamer tapped actor Kyle Allen as his replacement.
Things all but fell apart last summer, when Netflix scrapped the project after reportedly declining to approve its budget. Amazon MGM entered the picture a few months later. At the time, Variety reported that Allen would still play He-Man if the project got the green light. It’s unclear if that is still the case.
In addition to circling the live-action He-Man film, Amazon is also developing a live-action She-Ra series for its Prime Video service.
