Grayskull: Masters of the Universe - Part 3

[samsnee]

Good. It would have just been a low budget Thor

 

[TheVileOne]

I have mixed feelings on this. Truthfully, I'm not confident a big-budget He-Man movie can work in this era. How do you give audiences something they haven't been before and avoid this being seen as a Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor clone?

Plus, I wasn't super happy about it being saddled at Netflix either. I feel like it's for the best.

I think truthfully, the best outlet for Masters of the Universe would be a live-action TV show or new animated movies or projects like Revelation and Revolution.

 

[samsnee]

Yeap. I want a full cast of all the characters. You won’t get that with live action

 

[Mani-Man]

Insane, by that time you just could have gone through with it.
Bad or not, i really wanted a live action MOTU movie.

But this sucks even more in the current situation, seeing what Netflix throws at projects they then cancel without a second thought...while they refuse to pay actors&Writers fairly.
Throwing this much money left and right at everything except at writers and actors...shame on Netflix.

 

[TheVileOne]

Insane, by that time you just could have gone through with it.
Bad or not, i really wanted a live action MOTU movie.

But this sucks even more in the current situation, seeing what Netflix throws at projects they then cancel without a second thought...while they refuse to pay actors&Writers fairly.
Throwing this much money left and right at everything except at writers and actors...shame on Netflix.

A movie like this would not be cheap. Throwing around MCU money for things like a Knives Out trilogy from Rian Johnson makes more sense.

Because you are basically spending $200-$300 million to make a movie like this. And it's $200-$300 million you aren't getting back in box office dollars or home video sales or even VOD sales. You have to expect enough people will want to subscribe to watch it.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Netflix always seemed like the worst place to make a movie like this. There’s nothing in their history that has a movie of this size with this IP that wasn’t theatrical.

Maybe after Barbie reaps a trillion dollars this weekend, some studio will run to snatch up the Mattel stuff.

 

[psylockolussus]

Hmmm based from the dozen of "big" NetfliX films I've seen. They probably wouldn't pull it off. A lot of their films feel like "will wait til its on DVD", if we were in the 2000s/early 2010s.

Maybe sell it to Disney.

 

[Iceman]

Maybe Netflix needs to find partners to release some of their more expensive films to make some/most/all of the money back in a theatrical run and maybe even a ...profit. The films can still help their streaming after regardless.

 

[TheVileOne]

Maybe Netflix needs to find partners to release some of their more expensive films to make some/most/all of the money back in a theatrical run and maybe even a ...profit. The films can still help their streaming after regardless.

They partnered with theaters for that limited theatrical run of Knives Out, and they still left money on the table. So foolish.

 

[Iceman]

They partnered with theaters for that limited theatrical run of Knives Out, and they still left money on the table. So foolish.

I don't quite understand the strategy. People who love films in cinemas are usually very excited to watch them as possible again on streaming. And anyway if you manage to break even (never mind profit), you are getting "freebies" into your streaming service.

 

[BobJM]

Wonder if Mattel will want to push forward with He-Man given the success of Barbie, or are the film/television rights tied up at Netflix?

I wouldn’t have He-Man visit the real world, but I think you can embrace some of the 80s silliness with some degree of meta commentary.

Zane Phillips would be an excellent He-Man:

 

[TheVileOne]

Wonder if Mattel will want to push forward with He-Man given the success of Barbie, or are the film/television rights tied up at Netflix?

I wouldn’t have He-Man visit the real world, but I think you can embrace some of the 80s silliness with some degree of meta commentary.

Zane Phillips would be an excellent He-Man:

I just don't see how. He-Man and Barbie are two different things. I also have no interest in a meta-commentary He-Man story. For one thing, Barbie is a girl-centric brand, and the movie brought the female demo out in droves. He-Man and Barbie don't have the same demos or wouldn't be going for the same ones.

The thing about Barbie is there really is no story or identity there. He-Man is all about the lore and characters. They designed a toyline with its own lore and mythology. That was literally the hook of the toyline and its mentioned in the ads.

I think you could do some sort of 1980s toy parody or satire, but I would at least want to have a genuine article first before you go around messing with that.

Also, the 1987 movie already had him visiting the real world.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah, if they were to make a new He-Man movie, I wouldn’t want him visiting our world. I know that concept has been successful for some properties like Sonic and The Smurfs (and it obviously keeps costs down, which is why they did it in the old movie) but I would rather they just give us a true He-Man movie set in Eternia.

But that would cost a lot of money, and yeah, I don’t know if the interest is there. Maybe though. If people are truly growing tired of traditional superhero movies but are still craving recognizable action IP, then maybe He-Man could feel like something fresh and new while also being familiar. I know He-Man is a superhero too but the overall story has more of a LOTR meets Star Wars feel to it so that could be fun if it’s done well. Though maybe it would just feel like a Thor wannabe at this point.

 

[DyeLorean]

This is a very tricky property to adapt. Not to mention expensive. I just hope whoever ends up doing this will embrace the weirdness of the original designs.
I imagine the visuals closer to something like Labyrinth. A bit darker.

 

[Dark Raven]

Maybe it will be a virtual remake of the 1987 movie and will also involve characters like Gwildor, Karg, Blade etc. Then the general audience will think that these are the only characters that MOTU actually has and that the only storyline worth telling is them coming to earth. That will be like Superman always only fighting General Zod or Lex Luthor and never progressing beyond those.

 

[TheVileOne]

It's tricky because He-Man hasn't been a relevant property since the 1980s. And most of the attempts to revive He-Man/MOTU have failed. The 1980s was truly the last time MOTU had any sort of pop-cultural relevance or breakthrough.

Even the new CG-animated series that was meant to be more youth-oriented wasn't successful and didn't get renewed after the initial episode order was completed.

They have Revolution, which is continuing the Revelation storyline, but that's more of an adult collector-oriented show for older fans who liked the 1980s cartoon and updates. Even Barbie has more continued success past the 1980s.

Not sure what the best answer is here. I don't really want to see some sort of satire meta though. Now potentially, I think you could make some sort of 1980s toy movie tribute that riffs on like the toy IP era of the 1980s. But I'd rather Masters of the Universe be its own thing and not try to copy the Barbie model. It would be transparently bad and nothing more than a poor imitation of Barbie's success.

 

[DyeLorean]

What if Mattel really ends up having a couple of major hits after Barbie and eventually does its own He-Man, kinda what Marvel did with Guardians?
It's certainly a gamble. Only guys in their late thirties are gonna go opening night (hopefully).
But also after the current superhero landscape, I can see them trying to resurrect other IPs that are not strictly superhero-related. There's a bunch of 80's IP available to explore.
We already know they won't touch anything original, having a recognizable name in the title is half the battle.

 

[TheVileOne]

What if Mattel really ends up having a couple of major hits after Barbie and eventually does its own He-Man, kinda what Marvel did with Guardians?
It's certainly a gamble. Only guys in their late thirties are gonna go opening night (hopefully).
But also after the current superhero landscape, I can see them trying to resurrect other IPs that are not strictly superhero-related. There's a bunch of 80's IP available to explore.
We already know they won't touch anything original, having a recognizable name in the title is half the battle.

What if can be asked for a lot of things, but it's not an exact formula. The whole Barbie movement was kind of like lightning in a bottle and people got excited about Barbie-mania and Oppenheimer.

At the end of the day, Guardians is still part of the Marvel Universe and continuing the MCU. Also, it was based on a great comic book series at the time, that was also part of the Marvel Universe.

Mattel toy properties are toy properties. There's no Mattel Universe. He-Man and Barbie aren't part of a shared universe or franchise. Masters of the Universe is its own universe. Also, Barbie is primarily aimed at girls. Masters of the Universe was primarily a boy-skewing toyline, and now it's mainly enjoyed by aging adults. In fact most kids these days are moving away from analog toys and action figures and want phones, tablets, or video games.

But even the Barbie movie cost $145 million. There's no way a MOTU movie costs less. Barbie I think works because she's basically a blank slate. You can really do whatever you want with Barbie. It's not like Barbie has an established lore or continuity.

 

[DyeLorean]

What if can be asked for a lot of things, but it's not an exact formula. The whole Barbie movement was kind of like lightning in a bottle and people got excited about Barbie-mania and Oppenheimer.

At the end of the day, Guardians is still part of the Marvel Universe and continuing the MCU. Also, it was based on a great comic book series at the time, that was also part of the Marvel Universe.

Mattel toy properties are toy properties. There's no Mattel Universe. He-Man and Barbie aren't part of a shared universe or franchise. Masters of the Universe is its own universe. Also, Barbie is primarily aimed at girls. Masters of the Universe was primarily a boy-skewing toyline, and now it's mainly enjoyed by aging adults. In fact most kids these days are moving away from analog toys and action figures and want phones, tablets, or video games.

But even the Barbie movie cost $145 million. There's no way a MOTU movie costs less. Barbie I think works because she's basically a blank slate. You can really do whatever you want with Barbie. It's not like Barbie has an established lore or continuity.

Oh I think I didn't explain myself correctly. I wasn't talking about a shared universe or anything like that, but more from a financial stand point. That maybe Mattel can produce He-Man and the Masters of the Universe on its own much like Marvel did.

 

[TheVileOne]

Oh I think I didn't explain myself correctly. I wasn't talking about a shared universe or anything like that, but more from a financial stand point. That maybe Mattel can produce He-Man and the Masters of the Universe on its own much like Marvel did.

I think they tried that once before with Max Steel and it didn't work out very well. I think any movies Mattel makes they will have a studio partner.

 

[psylockolussus]

I don't quite understand the strategy. People who love films in cinemas are usually very excited to watch them as possible again on streaming. And anyway if you manage to break even (never mind profit), you are getting "freebies" into your streaming service.

From my understanding, they want their films to be seen first and foremost through their streaming service.

While these limited 1 to 2 theaterical runs are just limited runs, not really aim for the general public.

And this is why NetfliX will never be part of the big five. Once Disney or any major film studio figure out these streaming services, NetfliX would be in danger.

 

[TheVileOne]

From my understanding, they want their films to be seen first and foremost through their streaming service.

While these limited 1 to 2 theaterical runs are just limited runs, not really aim for the general public.

And this is why NetfliX will never be part of the big five. Once Disney or any major film studio figure out these streaming services, NetfliX would be in danger.

I recall Netflix proclaiming they wanted to challenge Disney as the destination for family programming.

 

[Detective Conan]

‘Masters of the Universe’ Movie Eyes New Home at Amazon After Netflix Exit (EXCLUSIVE)

After a pricey departure from Netflix, He-Man and She-Ra may find new life at Amazon MGM Studios, sources tell Variety.

variety.com

 

[TheVileOne]

Well, this does seem to confirm a lot of longtime rumors that NBCUniversal does have some kind of ownership over the franchise. Looks like Mattel got an extension on media rights until 2026 or that 2023 rumor was inaccurate.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

I will believe it when I see some set pics.