Netflix names new He-Man for live-action Masters of the Universe movie
Based on the '80s toys, the film will star a West Side Story actor and is co-written by the guy behind Shang-Chi and Wonder Woman 1984.
Actor Kyle Allen will wield the power of Grayskull on Netflix.
Netflix has named the new He-Man, announcing West Side Story star Kyle Allen as a new live-action version of the sword-wielding hero from the 1980s Masters of the Universe toy line. The streaming service also said Friday that the film will be co-written by David Callaham, one of the writers behind Wonder Woman 1984 and Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
We already knew Netflix was preparing the film and that it's being directed by the Nee Brothers (The Lost City, Band of Robbers), who will work on the screenplay with Callaham. Shooting is scheduled to begin in summer 2022.
Netflix released a one-line synopsis, which describes how "an orphan named Adam discovers he is a prince destined to be the savior of a faraway land and must quickly learn of his power and the importance of saving his true home from an evil force."
Having appeared as one of the Jets in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, Allen will star as Prince Adam and his muscle-bound alter ego He-Man. He previously starred in Hulu drama The Path.
Netflix is working with toy company Mattel, which launched the original action figures in 1982 (with accompanying cartoon the following year). Having previously developed the film at Sony before shopping it over to Netflix, Mattel revealed in a press release that the movie has been "14 years in the making."
The original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon aired on TV from 1983 to1985.
In case you're wondering, the press release doesn't mention the previous live-action Masters of the Universe movie, a calamitous 1987 flop starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the evil Skeletor, alongside a young Courteney Cox.
Netflix already has not one but two animated series set on the fabled world of Eternia. Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe: Revelation is a continuation of the original cartoon, voiced by Mark Hamill , Lena Headey and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Meanwhile He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a reboot for a younger audience.
