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McG Enters Talks To Direct Masters of the Universe

Does the director of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and ‘Terminator: Salvation’ have the power of Grayskull? It seems Sony think so, as they’ve got McG lined up to call the shots on their long-in development ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie.

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Deadline report that the filmmaker - full name Joseph McGinty Nichol - is in talks to direct a big screen take on the 1980s Mattel toy line and Filmation cartoon series following the mighty He-Man’s battle against the villainous Skeletor.

The project has been in development hell for quite some time. The last director linked to the property was Jeff Wadlow (’Kick-Ass 2’), who is believed to have written a draft of the screenplay.

However, it would seem that didn’t work out, as reportedly the most recent incarnation of the script is from Alex Litvak and Mike Finch (’Predators’) - and further rewrites are planned, which McG will oversee.

Of course, He-Man and company have made it to the big screen twice before, firstly in 1985 animated movie ‘The Secret of the Sword,’ which introduced spin-off character She-Ra.

Considerably more notorious is the 1987 live-action ‘Masters of the Universe’ from Cannon Films, which cast Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor.

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While widely celebrated as a camp classic today, the relatively low budget movie disappointed some fans. Lacking the resources to fully realise the spectacular world of Eternia, they cut a corner by moving the action largely to Earth.

It seems safe to assume this won’t be the case on the new ‘Masters of the Universe,’ as concept art released online in 2015 showcased He-Man’s ferocious steed Battlecat - a character notably absent in the Cannon movie.

Other directors previously linked to the film include John Woo and Jon M Chu.

Picture Credit: Universal. Warner Bros

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