Over time, you start to notice some films seem destined to live out their days in development hell. These films are seemingly cursed to never see production. Marvel’s “Gambit” is one of those films. And now, it appears we can add “Masters of the Universe” to that list, as well.
According to a new report from Variety, Netflix has officially stopped development on “Masters of the Universe,” leaving the project without a studio home… again. Based on the popular ‘80s toy line and animated series, “Masters of the Universe” seems like a no-brainer for studios in a world where people are obsessed with franchises and established IP. However, for some reason, “Masters of the Universe” just continues to linger in development, bouncing from studio to studio, adding and dropping filmmakers and stars along the way.
READ MORE: ‘She-Ra’: Amazon’s Live-Action Series Taps ‘Watchmen’ Director Nicole Kassell
At Netflix, the most recent iteration of the film included the filmmaking duo of Adam and Aaron Nee, coming off their hit action-comedy, “The Lost City.” The potential film also had “West Side Story” actor Kyle Allen attached to star as Prince Adam, aka He-Man. It’s also being reported that Netflix spent at least $30 million on the development of the project and will just eat those costs as “Masters of the Universe” attempts to find a new home. The pressing issue at Netflix was budget concerns, as producers reportedly tried to sell Netflix on a planned production that would cost $180 million. There were apparently even discussions of shooting two films back-to-back to help alleviate some of those costs. At the end of the day, this was just too much and Netflix wasn’t ready to continue.
Now, “Masters of the Universe” finds itself without a home again. Prior to Netflix, the film was set up at Sony with Noah Centineo attached to star. Before that, the film has been in various stages of development dating back to 2007 with filmmakers like Jon M. Chu and McG being attached at one point or another.
All of this to say, despite “Masters of the Universe” being a huge, established IP with a ton of potential and a built-in fanbase, there’s something about this live-action film that is seemingly preventing it from getting made. Cursed? Perhaps. At least we have the ‘80s live-action film to fondly remember.