Jon M. Chu was announced as the director for He-Man and The Master of the Universe back in July of last year but details on the project have been piecemeal ever since. The Sony and Escape Artist joint venture will see Chu at the helm of a contemporary take on the classic 80's toyline and cartoon series. The project is currently working off a script from Alex Litvak (Predators, The Three Musketeers) and Mike Finch (Predators, American Assassin, Hitman Reboot). Speaking to IGN during press for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Chu updated the status of the project.
"We're still early but we're deep in experimenting. This is the most fun phase for me because we get to try everything we've ever wanted to try in [Masters of the Universe] and then we get to throw out all the things that don't work, which is most of it. [This allows us to know] what our tone is, where we're going to head with it and it's a very important phase because it shows [us] the direction we're going to go in the future. So we're very early, we don't know a lot yet other than that we're playing around and having a lot of fun."
It's pretty easy to imagine the concepts Chu and co. are toying with while trying to hammer out a winning He-Man formula. Do we make Prince Adam a wimpy alter-ego? Do we need two separate actors to play Prince Adam and He-Man? How do we make it so that no one recognizes that Prince Adam and He-Man are the same person? Are we going to include Cringer aka Battle Cat and if so, how? Hopefully, the director can crack the code and deliver and entertaining fantasy spectacle. Hollywood Stock Exchange currently has G.I. Joe: Retaliation slotted for a $52M estimated opening weekend and a 4-week domestic gross of $136M which should please not only Paramount but also Sony.