He-Man Movie - Now Called 'Grayskull' - Gets Another New Writer

The Transformers effect has already led to a G.I. Joe movie, there will be a Thundercats movie in a couple of years, and, as you probably know, they're reintroducing He- Man with a flick called Grayskull. The Hollywood Reporter says that Warner Bros. has changed course on Grayskull, bringing in relative newcomer Evan Daugherty to put together the latest draft for director John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda), and this one not only reimagines the backstory of the He-Man alter ego, Prince Adam, but is also supposed to be much grittier than previous versions. It seems obvious that Warner Bros. will work with Mattel to develop a second generation toy line in conjunction with the film, which is still on the docket for 2011, but will the trend still be hot then? Will it even make it through this summer, with two toy franchises released within six weeks? The worst thing that could happen here is for Warner Bros. to go in half-assed because the marketplace may not support a He-Man movie. You might as well make the best version of this you can and worry about whether or not the audience is still there. That's preferable to making a really lame movie without a full commitment, where you almost guarantee there won't be an audience. Look, nobody thought a Transformers movie would work, either, until about two-and-a-half years ago, so while I don't know if Evan Daugherty can unlock greatness for Grayskull, it's good for the studio to get as many ideas as it can before moving ahead.

Comments

[Ryanatarms]

If they don't stick to the original story and try to involve earth in this movie it is doomed. Leave the original storyline in tact and add to it. They are turning it into some earthly story like they did in 1987 which was a flop. Justin Marks had it right on. I hope this new guy can see that.