‘Masters Of The Universe’ Reboot May Be Getting ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Director

In this age of reboots and remakes, one more might be gracing our radar. The Masters of the Universe reboot has seen its problems for a while, but it might finally have a director who will hopefully capture the feel of the classic cartoon series.

Known in the 80s as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the cartoon revolved around a reluctant prince and his cowardly tiger companion, the former of which possessed one-half of the most powerful sword in the universe. The other half was in the possession of a skull-faced villain named Skeletor, a character bent on destroying He-Man and using both halves to rule the universe. When the prince uses his half to summon the “power of Grayskull,” he transforms himself and his tiger into a fearsome duo.

A movie made in the late 80s cast Dolph Lundgren as Prince Adam in a story about finding a mystical key to save the universe. It was your typically cheesy 80s action fare, complete with a subplot about a teenager with a gift for music.

It’s unknown what the story will be about in the Masters of the Universe reboot, but the film is in talks to have a director who might finally have his biggest breakout hit since the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels. McG has since directed Terminator Salvation, which has been considered arguably one of the weakest installments in the franchise, as well as the not-so-well-received Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. However, his origins as a director actually lie in a documentary about Korn, a band on the rise around the late 90s, as well as videos for Sublime’s “Santeria” and The Offspring’s “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy).”

McG hasn’t had much success since Charlie’s Angels, but the chance to direct the Masters of the Universe reboot might bring him back. The tone of the classic cartoon was often outrageous and colorful, territory McG will probably find familiar.

The news that McG might be taking on the role of director comes from Deadline, who claim that despite the original live-action movie being canon, it was never as successful as the original cartoon. Sony is hoping to change that, possibly aiming for the reboot to be their own equivalent of Michael Bay’s Transformers. Hopefully, it doesn’t end up suffering from the same general ridicule from critics.

Hollywood knows that the film could be risky, and it has already gone through a collection of directors, drafts, and writers in its attempt to make the Masters of the Universe reboot a piece of cinematic gold. The original draft was written by the pens behind Predators, a film which proved not to be the success they’d wanted. The original choice to direct was G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s John M. Chu, says Coming Soon.

McG in talks to direct the Masters of the Universe reboot https://t.co/7Xh2P1TBBw pic.twitter.com/BX3pS0zn24

— ComingSoon.net (@comingsoonnet) January 22, 2016

If the Masters of the Universe reboot can be made a successful franchise in theaters, there is the potential promise of a female-centric She-Ra spinoff. In an era where women are becoming more of a focus in remakes and sequels, this could be a positive direction.

First, the reboot film will need to stay relatively true to its roots and not stray too far from what the fans are familiar with. This is a common complaint with live-action movies based on everything from TV shows to comic books and video games. There are often too many changes made to the source material. Disney has managed to do it well with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Sony hasn’t had such a great track record. They have managed to run two separate Spider-Man franchises to death.

Only time will tell if McG will be chosen to helm the Masters of the Universe reboot, or if it will be as successful as Sony wants it to be.

[Image via Hasbro]