Updated February 5, 2020:
It was rumored previously that Sony was exploring producing and releasing the He-Man movie through Netflix. Now, Discussing Film has learned through their sources that this appears to be the case.
An excerpt from their articles:
"We have learned that (formerly) Sony’s ‘Masters of the Universe’ film will now be developed and distributed by Netflix. The film is currently projected for a late 2021-early 2022 release.
The Hollywood Reporter stated in September 2019 that Sony Pictures studio chairman Tom Rothman was “exploring the prospect of getting risk-free cash for the pricey project by making it for Netflix instead.” They added that talks were “preliminary”. Sources say that the production budget for ‘Masters of the Universe’ is currently aimed to be around $130M, it is unknown if this figure has changed given the recent shifts with the film, however, once marketing and other costs are counted outside of the production budget, this film would have been a pricey bet for Sony Pictures. And despite Sony’s recent box office successes with ‘Little Women’, ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ and ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, a risk of a high-budget ‘Masters of the Universe’ film could have been far too costly for the studio to release theatrically.
As of now, it is currently unknown what involvement Sony has with this project now but it is likely that we will discover in the coming months whether Sony has officially backed out of the project entirely or if they are still involved in some capacity."
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Updated October 10, 2019:
Studio Dilemma: Risk a Box Office Flop, or Sell to Netflix?
After developing its He-Man franchise for years, Sony may take its 'Masters of the Universe' film direct to the streamer.
Call it Tom's Choice. Like all the major studios, Sony Pictures is questing for new franchises — and after years of development, it might have one with the He-Man movie Masters of the Universe.
But while the picture is on the calendar for release in March 2021, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that studio chairman Tom Rothman is exploring the prospect of getting risk-free cash for the pricey project by making it for Netflix instead. A studio source says talks are preliminary, but such a deal would make Sony the next studio after Paramount to start making movies belonging exclusively or almost exclusively to the streamer.
So there's the dilemma: seek a studio or financier to partner on the project, holding on to various rights and territories, or make the safe deal with Netflix (which would not seem quite so safe if the film were a huge hit and it already was sold). 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 stream*ing deals. And indie studio A24 inked a multi-year agreement in 2018 to produce a slate of films for Apple.
Even Warners may sell to outsiders despite its parent, WarnerMedia, allocating massive resources to its own streaming service, HBO Max. Disney and Universal are likely to sit this out for now, making movies for their own services, Disney+ (launching Nov. 12) and Peacock (debuting in April 2020).
As for the others, says a rep involved in a number of deals, "They have this backlog of films that isn’t going to get made and released theatrically." After long seeing Netflix as the enemy, this person says, studios "are turning around and saying, 'Let’s join ‘em. We can’t beat ‘em.'" Meanwhile, Netflix is said to be looking to make a quality tentpole a quarter with international appeal, creating a healthy demand.
Sony has been developing Masters of the Universe since 2007, perhaps making it that much less appealing to sell given that the studio finally has a version that it wants to make. But Netflix has the series She-Ra and The Princesses of Power plus an upcoming Kevin Smith He-Man anime series. The Netflix negotiation is being handled for now by newly upped Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group co-president Sanford Panitch.
According to sources, Sony wants to bolster its bottom line, in part following a significant loss on reboot Men in Black: International. At an internal meeting in early October, sources say Josh Greenstein, co-president of the group, raised concerns that the studio has spent too much on marketing, especially on titles that appeared to face headwinds leading up to release.
The Sony talks come just a month after it sold off Harbinger, an adaptation of a Valiant Entertainment comic starring superpowered teens. While the terms of the deal aren’t known, Harbinger was meant to go into production this summer or fall.
This year, Sony has had a major theatrical hit with Spider-Man: Far from Home (co-produced with Disney’s Marvel studios), which grossed $1.3 billion worldwide. And, after a public parting over a deal gone south, Disney and Sony are back in business for a third Spider-Man film, slated for 2021. Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the year's top-grossing original film at $360 million.
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Hopefully, this one sticks.
According to the latest press release from Sony Pictures, March 5, 2021 is the new release date for the live-action Masters of the Universe film. Initially, Deadline listed two other films that are slated for release on the same date as Masters, an untitled Universal Event Film and Noelle Stevenson's animated "Nimona" from Fox, but have since updated to include the new Warner Bros. film that is based on the Mortal Kombat video games.
Noah Centineo is still attached to star as He-Man. Adam and Aaron Nee are directing and have screenwriting credits. The script was rewritten by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum who are known for "Iron Man." Jason Blumenthal, Todd Black and Steve Tisch from Escape Artists are serving as producers.
Deadline.com:
Sony Pictures has set a March 5, 2021, release date for Masters of the Universe, the latest film adaptation of a Mattel toy line. The film originally had been slated for Christmastime this year.
Noah Centineo is set to play He-Man in live-action Columbia Pictures movie based on the 1980s action figures that spawned an animated TV show and a 1987 feature with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man. Adam and Aaron Nee are attached to direct the pic and are writing the script with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.
Plot details about the new film aren’t know, but He-Man — as any child of the ’80s could tell you — a muscular medieval guy who is trying to ward off the nasty Skeletor and his dark armies as both good and evil fight for control of Castle Grayskull.
As of now, Masters of the Universe will battle against Fox’s animated Nimona and an Untitled Universal Event Film on that weekend.
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Originally Posted by Krueger
Brings doom to MOTUC with cel accuracy.
