Source: Heat Vision

Predators screenwriters Mike Finch and Alex Litvak have officially been brought on board to pen the script for the new live-action Masters of the Universe movie for Columbia.

This is the first step that Columbia has made in moving forward with the film adaptation of the hit animated series from the 1980s (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) since they picked it up last fall from Warner Brothers after Mattel (the toy company that produced the He-Man action figures) and Warner Brothers dropped the project because they couldn’t agree on a creative vision for the live-action film.

Previously, Justin Marks had penned a screenplay, with Kung Fu Panda director Jon Stevenson signed on to direct what was then called Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe (no word on whether or not this will remain the official title). But now that Columbia has the rights to make the film, all of that has been dropped. Apparently Mattel was not happy with the direction the film was heading, despite getting quite a bit of buzz around the internet.

For me, this is both good news and bad news. On the one hand it sounds like the He-Man film that Justin Marks penned was going to be the quintessential film for fans of the animated series – being described as “The Lord of the Rings” meets “The Matrix” meets “Batman Begins” in terms of genre and storytelling. Now, all that has gone by the waste side. But on the other hand, if Predators turns out to be as good a film as it looks in the previews, then Finch and Litvak might be capable of turning over a great script for The Masters of the Universe that will be just as good as Marks’. In the end, just like any film-making endeavor, the movie needs a great script and a great director to pull of a good movie – especially one with such epic potential as this.

I was a huge fan of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as a kid growing up in the 80s, and I am highly anticipating a new live-action He-Man movie. I really hope I am not let down by it because I have been waiting pretty much my whole life for this. 🙂