Netflix has pulled the plug on a planned Masters of the Universe movie, resulting in a potential loss of $30 million.
For years, there have been plans to develop a new live-action adaptation of Masters of the Universe at Netflix. This would follow multiple animated adaptations which have been made for the streaming platform in recent years. While progress on the film was slow, things seemed to be moving well last year when it was reported that Kyle Allen had boarded the project as the new He-Man. However, Variety now reports that Netflix has scrapped the project, opting not to move forward with the reboot after all.
According to the new report, around $30 million had already been spent on the movie in various development costs. An unknown amount has also been paid to secure Allen and directors Adam Nee and Aaron Nee (The Lost City). Altogether, the project is estimated by some sources to have cost close to $60 million at this point. It’s also reported that the reason Netflix decided to scrap the film is because of the ballooning budget. A Mattel spokesperson confirmed that the movie won’t move forward at Netflix but didn’t say if the film will be shopped to other streamers.
Word is the budget would have ultimately cost more than $200 million, and after it was previously greenlit, the Masters of the Universe reboot was set to start shooting in February. Those plans were halted with a big drop in stock at Netflix, reportedly resulting in around $50 billion in value lost. The Variety report notes that the company was unwilling to spend more than $150 on the film, apparently killing the project. Even so, pulling the plug after $30 million had already been spent for early development costs wasn’t exactly expected.
Netflix has delved into the animated world of Masters of the Universe in recent years. Kevin Smith’s sequel series Masters of the Universe: Revelation debuted in 2021 and will be followed by a new series, Masters of the Universe: Revolution. Another ongoing animated adaptation, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, has been on Netflix for three seasons as well. There was also a spinoff series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power which ran for five seasons. Of course, these animated projects were all considerably less expensive than the live-action reboot that’s been axed.
Source: Variety