The movie based on the ’80s Kenner toy brand ‘M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand’ (now part of the Hasbro dynasty) is moving forward with F. Gary Gray directing from a script by Chis Bremner. Gray was announced as director back in 2018 but movement on this project has been incredibly slow.
Bremner is a newcomer but he’s off to an illustrious start having co-written this year’s biggest hit so far ‘Bad Boys For Life’ which just crossed the $400 million mark at the global box office. He is already signed to pen the screenplays for a fourth ‘Bad Boys’ and to help revive the ‘National Treasure’ franchise.
Gray helmed the hits ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘Fate of the Furious’, as well as last year’s underperformer ‘Men In Black: International’.
Plans to make a ‘M.A.S.K.’ movie were first announced in 2015 along with a slew of other films based on Hasbro properties, which would take place in a shared universe. It’s unclear if these movies will still share a universe, but the upcoming ‘Snake Eyes’ is meant to reboot the lackluster ‘G.I. Joe’ movie franchise and Hasbro and Paramount are still moving forward with ‘Micronauts’.
Kenner’s ‘M.A.S.K.’ toy line hit the market in 1985, and *ahem* borrowed elements from competitor Hasbro’s two top brands, ‘Transformers’ and ‘G.I. Joe’. Like ‘Transformers’, ‘M.A.S.K.’ featured vehicles with the ability to switch modes, although rather than turning into robots, they changed from one vehicle to another. And like ‘G.I. Joe’, these vehicles were piloted by experts in various fields. These heroes and villains wore helmets which gave them a range of super abilities.
The leader of M.A.S.K. was Matt Trakker, who originally wore the Spectrum mask that gave him various light-based powers (like laser beams and holograms) and piloted the Thunderhawk, a red Chevy Camaro whose doors lifted up and turned into wings, changing into a flying “jet.”
M.A.S.K.’s mission was to defend the world from V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem), led by Miles Mayhem. Like the heroes, the bad guys also had transforming vehicles and wore special helmets.
There were four waves of toys and the DIC animated series aired for two seasons. DC Comics originally published a comic book based on the line and more recently, IDW has released some ‘M.A.S.K.’ comics as part of its overall deal with Hasbro. In this version, Matt Trakker has been changed from a blond Caucasian to African American.
Unlike most other ’80s toys, there has never been a ‘M.A.S.K.’ revival. In 2008, a Matt Trakker action figure (Caucasian) was included as part of the G.I. Joe line, but that was a one-and-done release.
‘M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand’ does not yet have a release date, but it probably won’t arrive for a few years if Bremner is just now starting on the script. Check back for updates!
Were you a fan of the original ‘M.A.S.K.’? Are you looking forward to seeing a movie based on the line?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
