The hope of having another live-action Masters of the Universe movie is once again dead in the water. We previously reported in early 2022 that filming was to start later that year with Kyle Allen set to star as He-Man. One year before that, Sony Picture’s reboot starring Noah Centineo as He-Man was also canned. The Nee brothers (The Lost City), who were set to direct the film at Sony, were to continue as directors for the Netflix adaptation.
According to Variety’s insiders, US$30 million had already been spent on development costs. A spokesperson from Mattel had also confirmed that Masters of the Universe is no longer at Netflix, with no further comments, even from Netflix.
However, all hope is not lost just yet, seeing how Mattel is currently riding high hopes with the upcoming Barbie movie, and apparently already has 45 other toy-based movies in the works, which includes Masters of the Universe.
There has only been one live-action Masters of the Universe to date, way back in 1987, starring Dolph Lundgren and Courteney Cox.
The multimedia franchise from the 1980s started as a toyline with a cartoon series, before exploring spin-offs, reboots and revivals over the last 30 plus years. 2021 saw two Masters of the Universe projects debut on the global streamer. The first was a middling two-part revival led by comic book writer/director Kevin Smith, while the second was a more kids-friendly reboot that will see a second season.