Masters of the Universe reboot loses its director

The forthcoming reboot of 80s cartoon series 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe', at one point set to be called 'Grayskull', has hit another snag.

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' director John Chu has now left the project, leaving the Sony Pictures property without a helmsman.

He's the second director to jump ship, after John Stevenson, who directed 'Kung Fu Panda', left the film when initial plans to make it fell apart and the project was acquired by Sony.

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But it's not all bad news, as Terry Rossio has joined the film to work on its script, having co-penned all of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies and recently 'The Lone Ranger' for Disney.

The new adaptation of the cartoon will be set on the fictional planet of Eternia, home to Prince Adam, the ripped warrior with the 'power of Grayskull'.

'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' first appeared on screens in 1983, running for two seasons and 130 episodes.

Though it only ran until 1985, the franchise endured thanks to repeat screenings and its range of action figures of characters like Teela, Man-At-Arms, Battle Cat and He-Man's antagonist Skeletor.

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In the cartoon, Prince Adam would hold aloft his magic sword and on uttering the words 'By the power of Grayskull, I have the power' would be transformed into a warrior with rippling muscles, while his cowardly pet Cringer would be turned into Battle Cat.

It was re-dubbed for territories across the globe, and retains something of a cult following.

It was then made into a movie in 1987, starring Dolph Lundgren as Adam/He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor.

Sadly, the film bombed, failing to convert fans of the cartoon and pulling in $17 million back from its $22 million budget.

Check out the excellent old-school trailer for it below...