He may have left the world of superheroes behind, but Avi Arad – former CEO of Marvel Entertainment – is keeping himself busy, by immersing himself in the world where he first made his name: toys.
Already Avi and his son, Ari, who together formed Arad Productions after leaving the LA-based movie arm of Marvel Comics, have been working on a live-action version of Bratz, the popular line of toys for girls. That movie is currently lensing, as they say on the streets (of Hollywood; nowhere else).
And today it was announced that Arad Productions have teamed up with Wowwee Ltd. to bring Robosapien to the big screen in time for 2009.
If you don’t know Robosapien, then clearly you don’t have a kid lurking somewhere in your family tree. The world’s most popular entertainment robot, the line of toys has sold over four million units since launch. Astonishingly responsive and versatile, it’s a big favourite with boys in particular.
Click the thumbnail below to take a closer look at Robosapien.
No clue yet on what the movie version of Robosapien will look like, or what the plot will be, nor indeed on any potential directors/writers/cast members, but Avi Arad – who started out as a toy designer before moving into movies – did say that the movie would be a blend of live action and CGI.
“Robosapien has intrigued me since he was introduced,” said Avi. “He has all the right elements to make a family feature film with the ability to touch people on an emotional level." Aww… bless.
Before we go with our usual caveat of ‘for more on this story, keep ‘em peeled to Empire Online’, we should point out that just because Avi is no longer working for Marvel, that doesn’t mean he’s not working with Marvel – he’s still assuming producing duties on the likes of Spider-Man 3, Iron Man and Captain America.
Busy man, then – and a brave man, too. Off the top of our tiny little heads, Empire can’t think of a decent movie that came from a toy line. Perhaps this summer’s forthcoming Transformers will change all that, but if not, it could be up to Robosapien to open the floodgates. Empire’s always had a soft spot for Avi, so we wish him well.