Speaking with
CeleBuzz, director Jon M. Chu discusses his upcoming reboot of the
Masters Of The Universe franchise. Chu has previously directed a toy adaptation in the form of
G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which is currently going through the 3D conversion phase and will begin reshoots soon. The director says that he was skeptical about helming
Masters Of The Universe, but he was "blown away" by the script and its approach, which he described as "fresh and unexpected". He also goes on to comment on how he connected to the script on an emotional level, which made him decide to take the job.
Additionally, Chu discusses how wide open the
Masters Of The Universe franchise was for a film adaptation, and also says that he doesn't think about the 1987
MOTU film, which starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man. Finally, the director can't comment on when he officially begins work on the reboot, and says that
G.I. Joe: Retaliation is currently his top priority. For Chu's comments on how he was a fan of the
MOTU toys since childhood, click the link below.
On Why He Decided To Direct Another Toy Adaptation After G.I. Joe: Retaliation:
"I was approached about doing a Masters of the Universe movie and while at first I was skeptical, I read the script and I was blown away. I had no idea what to expect but it was such a fresh, UNEXPECTED approach I was immediately intrigued. I never expected to connect on a human level to a MOTU movie but I really plugged in emotionally. That alone, got me excited to see what we could do with the property.
"MOTU is such a challenging puzzle to make into a movie that works to a contemporary audience but the script seemed to really crack it for me. I think people are really going to be surprised at the rich story we have the opportunity to tell in this world. Where you think MOTU goes left, the script goes right and it was just very clear to me this was something very special. It was never a conscious decision to do another “toy” movie but when I read this I couldn’t put it down. And I definitely couldn’t let anyone else make it but myself. It was just too much fun."
On How Wide Open He Feels The Property Is For Adaptation, And Whether Or Not The 1987 Film Is Inspiration:
"I feel like there’s a lot of room to crack open the Masters of the Universe story. We are still in our process and I think we have some great seeds planted but making one of these types of movies RIGHT takes a lot of TONAL tightroping so we’re just going to play for the next several months. Play with designs, play with the characters, try new things, maybe go too far on some things and pull back. The process is really important to find where the right line is so we can land right on it. I think that’s what can dig out the properties full potential for a cinematic rebirth.
"I don’t really think about the 80s movie when looking at this movie because the script here is so strong and so unique. I think the characters are so grounded and layered I never expected that in a Masters movie so to me it’s on a totally different level. Don’t get me wrong, I love the 80s movie for full nostalgic reasons but this script feels like it’s a totally different genre than that one."
On When He Begins Work On Masters Of The Universe:
"I can’t say exactly, but my first priority right now is still G.I. Joe: Retaliation. We are finishing the dimensionalizing of the film and I want the audience to be blown away by the 3D work we do in it so that takes a lot of my time and energy currently. It’s a lot of technical and creative stuff put together which I love. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve done, finally!"
G.I. Joe: Retaliation is set to hit theaters March 29th, 2013.