'Masters Of The Universe' Reboot Might Go Straight To Netflix
Sony has been developing its Masters of the Universe reboot since 2007, hoping to launch a new blockbuster franchise. But now the studio is considering avoiding a potential box office flop by dumping the movie right on Netflix. While Sony still has a stake in Spider-Man, its non-Spidey franchises haven't done so well. Case in point: this year's Men In Black: International was panned by critics and flopped at the box office. While nothing is official yet, a new report reveals Sony is considering taking Masters of the Universe right to streaming to avoid a repeat of the Men of Black incident.
THR has the scoop on the Masters of the Universe reboot potentially ending up on Netflix. Sony currently has the film slated for a theatrical release in March of 2021, but an insider tells THR that "studio chairman Tom Rothman is exploring the prospect of getting risk-free cash for the pricey project by making it for Netflix instead."
Netflix currently has the Masters of the Universe related animated series She-Ra and The Princesses of Power and an upcoming Kevin Smith-led He-Man anime series, which would make the Masters of the Universe movie fit right in. Whether or not Sony does sell Masters of the Universe to Netflix, this concept is definitely the start of a trend in Hollywood. The THR story states:
Studios selling to streamers is an accelerating trend: Paramount is looking into dedicating a division to that purpose, while a source with knowledge of the situation says Sony's TriStar label is devoting resources to streaming deals. And indie studio A24 inked a multi-year agreement in 2018 to produce a slate of films for Apple.
Studios have been combating streaming services for years, but now that it's clear streaming isn't going away they're realizing it's time to embrace them. As a source tells THR, studios are "turning around and saying, 'Let's join 'em. We can't beat 'em.'"
Last year Paramount ended up dropping The Cloverfield Paradox direct to Netflix rather than release the project in theaters. From a business standpoint, this all makes sense. Studios have been discovering that very few movies – except maybe superhero movies – end up scoring big at the box office. Why risk paltry box office returns when you can send something directly to streaming instead?
The Masters of the Universe reboot has changed creative hands several times since 2007. The project was originally at Warner Bros, before landing at Sony. At one point, McG was announced as a director for the film. McG eventually left the project, and David S. Goyer was announced as writer and potential director. That didn't pan out either, and the Nee Brothers are now attached to direct, with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway writing the script, and Noah Centineo playing He-Man.