Warners and Mattel recently parted ways over their Masters of the Universe movie, and it seems that Sony has picked up the baton. Meanwhile, Barbie is set to star in her own film, joining Hot Wheels, Max Steel, Major Matt Mason and a new line of Universal monster toys on Mattel's movie roster. You want toys? You got 'em.
The projected new He-Man movie will be built again from scratch since Warners retain the rights to the screenplays produced for Joel Silver. Unsurprisingly, the story is about a prince who becomes a warrior and battles Skeletor for his homeland of Eternia. No new writers have yet been assigned, but the new producers for Sony are reported to be Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch of Escape Artists, who were behind Knowing and The Taking of Pelham 123. So they know the action, and they know the sci-fi fantasy, and they know the PG-13. Interesting.
Barbie on the other hand, is being set up at Universal, with producer Laurence Mark, who was most recently behind Julie and Julia. The ditzy Barbie doll is, of course, the butt of many a joke in Toy Story 2, but she's never had her own film before (other than DTV cartoons), despite having, apparently, "99% global brand awareness". Why? "She wasn't ready," says Mattel honcho Richard Dickson. Universal are now on the lookout for writers for the family-friendly live action movie.
Barbie is no longer just a doll. She's an "intellectual property". We blame those Transformers.