Studios these days seem to act like teenagers subject to peer pressure: they see someone doing something, think it looks cool (read: profitable) and want to do it themselves. In place of smoking or injecting lemon juice into their ears, the current hot Holly-trend is writing rooms, and Hasbro has hired an eclectic bunch to map out ideas for its own cinematic universe that includes novelist Michael Chabon, comics and TV man Brian K. Vaughn, Guardians Of The Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman and Fringe veteran Jeff Pinkner.
Hasbro, which is working with Paramount to produce movies based on properties such as G.I. Joe (which has a head start on the rest with two movies under its belt), Micronauts, M.A.S.K. and more, has Akiva Goldsman on board to oversee the room. He's fresh from working with the team that pumped out ideas for new Transformers sequels and spin-offs.
And this is quite a team he's put together. In addition to the Pulitzer-winning Chabon, Y: The Last Man's Vaughn, Perlman (currently at work on Captain Marvel for Marvel) and TV veteran Pinkner there's Cheo Hodari Coker, who ran Netflix's Luke Cage, Joe Robert Cole (scripting Black Panther for Marvel Studios), Spider-Man: Homecoming duo John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Nicole Riegel and Geneva Robertson and Lindsey Beer, who was recently hired to adapt Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle for Lionsgate.
It also represents a healthy step towards diversity for big studio projects, with Hasbro's Stephen Davies explaining the thinking to The Hollywood Reporter. “We first and foremost put together a list of writers who we wanted to be in business with and could be the world builders that we needed. But we want to be sure that in the room we have diverse perspectives, diverse backgrounds, and diverse experiences.”
The group will assemble for its first meeting next Monday, which will include artists available to draw characters and concepts. No timeline is in place for any potential movies yet, but expect announcements in the coming months, assuming they don't all spend their time making paper airplanes and having flying competitions. Yes, Daley and Goldstein, we're looking at you.