The long-gestating live-action Masters Of The Universe movie on Netflix is officially dead. The decision to scrap the film reportedly came down to “budget concerns,” with Netflix saying the movie was set to cost $200 million to make! Absolute insanity.
According to Variety, Netflix tried to shave $50 million off the budget after investors became concerned about the company’s subscriber losses which saw a huge stock drop resulting in a mahoosive shed of $50 billion in value.
Variety was told by insiders said that close to $30 million has already been spent on development costs! This money has apparently been used to hold on to the talent, such as lead actor Kyle Allen and the film’s directors Adam and Aaron Nee (The Lost City). However, other knowledgeable sources estimate the costs for development are actually twice that figure.
A Smart Move
With recent big box office failures costing studios gazillions of dollars, you can’t blame Netflix for bailing having (only) invested $30 million. The Flash has been a financial skidmark to add to the shitstain that is already lining Warner Bros’ underwear. And let’s not even get started on Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny as well as all the other money-losing adventures over at Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and whatever else the Mouse owns.
It blows my mind that a franchise like Masters Of The Universe, which has such a unique concept involving sorcery and science, as well as an abundance of interesting characters and lore, hasn’t been done properly since 2002. Yes, we have crybaby shill Kevin Smith’s most recent attempt in 2021, but that was a total waste of time and effort. In fact, it was nothing short of an abomination and a disgrace to He-Man’s legacy.
All Is Not Lost
Panic not though Outposters because it seems that Mattel is looking for a new buyer. With Barbie saturating the market before its projected $100 million opening weekend, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz has been gobbling off about the value of He-Man to anyone and everyone.
“It’s as big as Marvel and DC. It’s hundreds of pages of characters and sorcerers and vehicles and weaponry – you name it. And then you flip through the pages, and here’s a movie, and here’s a movie, and here’s a TV show. . . . it’s endless!
If Barbie has the kind of success that is expected, and that’s not even including the amount of money our very own Shawn Thompson is planning on investing into the merch, purchasing the right to a live-action Masters Of The Universe is the biggest no-brainer today. But then we’re talking Hollywood where brains seem to be in very short supply.
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