Netflix’s Live-Action Masters of the Universe Movie Canceled

Movies

The Power of Grayskull is no longer with Netflix. Variety exclusively reports that a live-action Masters of the Universe movie the streamer had been developing is no longer happening. The film was to be directed by Adam and Aaron Nee, the brothers who helmed last year’s The Lost City, and star Kyle Allen, an actor I’ve never heard of but am apparently supposed to think is a big deal. Before canning Masters of the Universe, Netflix had spent $30 million on development. Variety points to budgetary issues as the main culprit behind the movie’s termination, with proposals ranging from $150 million to $200 million being too much for Netflix to commit to a film based on something that hasn’t been overly popular since the 80s. What goes unmentioned, but probably shouldn’t, is the failure of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, an animated series from 2021 written and produced by Kevin Smith; no doubt this helped bring out Netflix’s frugality.

I’d forgotten Netflix was developing a live-action Masters of the Universe. I do remember Kevin Smith’s series being a bust. I watched the first half and was bored to tears; it was everything Smith assured fans it wasn’t, and that post-release tantrum he took with Griffin Newman (who played Arthur in the Amazon version of The Tick, which is much better and well worth your time) where he lambasted anyone unsatisfied or accusing him of lying about He-Man’s prominence in the show, didn’t make me want to see how the story ended. I love Kevin Smith, but he did lie about this, and frankly, I don’t think Masters of the Universe was the passion project he claimed it was; it was work for hire, which is fine, assuming you can make something people who do care about it enjoy. The second half of the series did so poorly that nobody even complained about it, and I imagine Netflix figured they’d squandered any latent interest there was in seeing He-Man and his friends again.

It also highlights another issue that’s been at the forefront of film discussion: movie budgets are completely out of control. Something like Masters of the Universe will necessitate a big budget, but when you can’t scrape together $150 million for a spacefaring fantasy adventure, it’s because you’ve blown so much money on so many other projects that you’re tapped out. This may be a sign that movies like this won’t get made for a while as studios focus on smaller films with manageable budgets that can get them a profit from an audience that’s been burned too many times to give their blockbusters a chance. Netflix, in particular, should be taking this route; how much of a massive budget are you going to get back through streaming? They need to either start releasing movies theatrically or keep their budgets very low (or, if they’re really smart, both). Say goodbye to He-Man and alien invasions and say hello to that gestating My Dinner with Andre remake.

Of course, there’s no reason to make a live-action Masters of the Universe after Dolph Lundgren already nailed it.