Oh surprise! Sony has removed ‘Masters of the Universe’ from its schedule. It had been scheduled to hit theaters on March 5, 2021, but now that spot has gone to ‘Uncharted’, another Sony picture that has been struggling for years to get made. But ‘Masters of the Universe’ was not rescheduled, so its fate looks a little bleaker.
This news was confirmed by Aaron Couch of The Hollywood Reporter:
Sony has moved #Uncharted back 3 months. It now opens 3/5/2021. Masters of the Universe has been taken off the calendar (it previously occupied Uncharted’s new date)
— Aaron Couch (@AaronCouch) January 25, 2020
The last update on this troubled production was in October when the rumor emerged that Sony was considering sending it straight to Netflix instead of theaters. That sort of begs the question of why the studio plans to make it at all. Netflix would make a nice home for a ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie as it has two separate cartoons based on the property in the works– ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’, an adult-skewing anime, with Kevin Smith producing, and ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’, an all-ages take. It already hosts the critically acclaimed ‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’ cartoon.
RELATED: Kevin Smith Will Spearhead ‘Masters Of The Universe: Revelation’ Anime For Netflix
On top of that, Netflix heartthrob Noah Centineo is signed on to play He-Man. After making a splash on Freeform’s ‘The Fosters’, Centineo’s popularity skyrocketed after starring in the Netflix teen rom-com ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’. He followed that up with additional Netflix originals, ‘Sierra Burgess Is a Loser’ and ‘Perfect Date’. He will next be seen in the sequel, ‘To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You’, and is signed on for a third movie in the series.
Last fall, it looked as though Centineo had packed on some muscle to play He-Man, but then he injured his knee, so perhaps his appearance in ‘P.S. I Still Love You’ will give an indication of his current physical form.
Last we heard, twin brothers Aaron and Adam Nee were attached to direct, with a screenplay by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. Davis S. Goyer, who was at one time attached to direct, was set to serve as an executive producer.
RELATED: Curse You, He-Man: Sony May Send ‘Masters Of The Universe’ Straight To Netflix
Last summer, at the MTV Movie Awards, Centineo stated:
“It’s a really big responsibility. This is like first one in, last one out every single day, which I’ve done before, but I’ve never done it on a studio level. Which, studio level is the same as indie, but like, they got playback… It’s a big opportunity and I feel more than ready to tackle it.
“It’s a new universe and it’s a new studio and their take on a universe. The Nee brothers, Adam and Aaron Nee, they’re directing it, and they’re the filmmakers in charge of the story, and they are doing one hell of a job developing the world and all these things, so. I can’t tell you what tone they’re going for, but they’re genius, so.”
At this point, it’s unclear what ‘Masters of the Universe” fate is. It was not scheduled, so Sony doesn’t seem to think it will arrive in theaters in the next couple of years. Perhaps the studio is sending it directly to Netflix. Or, maybe it has been decided to cut all losses and dump this picture.
Are you upset that ‘Masters of the Universe’ may have been delayed yet again? Or possibly scrapped altogether?
