Variety are reporting that Warner Bros. and Mattel will be parting company on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the live-action reinvention of the Mattel toy line that WB and Joel Silver have been developing since 2007. Mattel and Warners didn’t see eye to eye over the direction of the project and made a mutual decision to let the option lapse this month. Mattel will take back the property and set it up elsewhere. The expectation is that director John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) will stay, but not Silver, who is exclusive to Warner Bros.
Mattel still has Hot Wheels with Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures, along with a Universal/Playtone deal to turn Major Matt Mason into a star vehicle for Tom Hanks, a deal with Paramount for Max Steel and a Universal deal for a live-action musical to be based on a new toy-line that aspires to add a fresh twist to monster lore, with Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Tony-winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
