Rippling biceps, mighty torsos, sweaty abs- a “Masters Of The Universe” movie is upon us! John Stevenson (“Kung Fu Panda”) is set to make his live action directorial debut on the Mattel toy spinoff, working with superproducer Joel Silver (“The Matrix”) and a script by Justin Marks. Marks is responsible for the upcoming “Street Fighter” movie, as well as proposed scripts for “Voltron,” “Hack/Slash” and “Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max.” So essentially, he’s the worst person ever. The film has no relation to the 1987 film “Masters Of The Universe,” with Dolph Lundgren as the bronzed hero He-Man and Oscar nominee Frank Langella as the awesomely villainous Skeletor. [Comingsoon.net]
-Director Tom Tykwer, promoting “The International,” revealed that he’s adapting the novel “Cloud Atlas,” with none other than the Wachowski Brothers collaborating in some aspect. It’s a novel featuring six loosely connected stories in the sci-fi genre. Tykwer only revealed that he’s “trying” to adapt the material, and didn’t mention if he would be directing, so it’s a bit early to speculate. [Firstshowing.net]
-During promotion for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” director Alex Proyas (“I, Robot”) recently discussed two projects he’s been developing. He’s currently undergoing the budgeting process for “The Tripods,” an adaptation of a John Christopher series about a postapocalyptic future where humans are under the rule of alien tripods who have driven human society back to the Dark Ages. Previously Gregor Jordan (“The Informers”) was developing this for Disney, but it appears he is now off the project. Proyas is also still involved in developing the “Dracula: Year Zero” prequel, which still awaits a greenlight, and he spoke about what appealed to him about the idea, but there has to be some caution as to how slow the development process for this bad idea has been. [Shocktilyoudrop.com]