Washington [US], January 29 (ANI): ‘West Side Story’ actor Kyle Allen is set to play He-Man in the much-awaited ‘Masters of the Universe’ live-action movie, which is in the works at Netflix.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the ‘Masters of the Universe’ from Mattel Films centres around an orphan named Adam, who discovers he is a prince destined to be the saviour of a far-away land and must quickly learn how to use his power to save his home from the evil Skeletor. Allen is set to play the fan’s favourite character He-Man in the film.
The sword-and-sorcery franchise began as a series of action figures and has seen multiple screen iterations. An 80s animated series was followed by a 1987 live-action fantasy film, which starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man.
For the unversed, the upcoming movie was previously in development at Sony, where at ‘To All the Boys’ star Noah Centineo was tapped to portray He-Man. The Nee brothers were also attached to direct the feature at Sony.
However, the makers have now moved to Netflix for the movie.
Sony will retain the rights, both theatrical and streaming, to the film in China, where Netflix does not operate.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is already home to two ‘Masters of the Universe’ adaptations — a 2D animated series ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’ from showrunner Kevin Smith that features Mark Hamill, Lena Headey, Chris Wood and Sarah Michelle Gellar as voice talent.
The streaming service also has the CG-animated series ‘He-Man and Masters of the Universe’, which will soon debut its second season.
Speaking about the upcoming live-action feature which is eying a summer 2022 start date, it will be directed by the Nee brothers from a screenplay they wrote with ‘Shang-Chi’ scribe David Callaham.
Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch will produce along with DeVon Franklin.
Robbie Brenner and Kevin McKeon will oversee the project for Mattel Films.
