It was almost a year ago to the day that it was reported that screenwriter Richard Wenk had come aboard to rewrite the existing script for the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie, and now history appears to be repeating itself. With the project seemingly moving nowhere over the last 12 months, The Hollywood Reporter says that Columbia Pictures and Escape Artists have hired The Lone Ranger co-writer Terry Rossio to sign on and retool the screenplay that the studio has been working with.
This is certainly progress for the film, but it also has to deal with a recent step backwards. While G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu had been attached to the project since July 2012, THR notes that he is no longer involved. It's worth mentioning that rumors back in August said that Chu was one of the directors being considered for the sequel to Star Trek Into Darkness (J.J. Abrams having vacated the director's chair to make Star Wars: Episode VII), but the filmmaker is also attached to helm the next G.I. Joe movie as well as an adaptation of the dystopian YA novel Matched. The trade doesn't say why Chu is no longer on board.
Rossio has had a similar career trajectory to screenwriter David Koepp, who also has a reputation for taking on scripts for big blockbuster films. Along with frequent collaborator Ted Elliott, Rossio got his break in 1989 writing the script for Little Monsters, and has since had a hand in the entire Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Shrek, Godzilla, The Mask of Zorro, National Treasure, Book of Secrets, Deja Vu and more. Prior to Wenk working on the script - which was previously titled Greyskull - the original draft was written by Michael Finch and Alex Litvak (Predators).
For those unfamiliar with the Masters of the Universe brand, the story follows a warrior named Prince Adam on the planet Eternia who can utter a certain phrase ("By the power of Grayskull -- I have the power!"), and transform into the mighty He-Man. Along with his compatriots he must defend castle Greyskull from the evil forces led by the villainous Skeletor. The franchise was created by the toy manufacturer Mattel in 1981 and they actually previously made a live-action movie starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor. The results were not great:
Are you excited for a new Masters of the Universe movie? Do you think that Rossio is a good pick to work on the script? Who do you think should replace Chu as director? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
