The new Masters of the Universe movie might have just found itself back in development hell. It has been a difficult road for the adaptaion so far. The Masters of the Universe reboot has had a revolving door of directors and writers. At one point, David Goyer had been reported as its writer. There was a script by Alex Litvak and Mike Finch. There had been a draft by Jeff Wadlow that was completed in late 2014 (that itself was a rewrite of a draft by Terry Rossio). Sony then tapped Christopher Yost for another rewrite. And that’s only the beginning. Most recently, it was working off a draft by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum. The duo wrote the D.O.A. Men in Black: International, and worked on Transformers: The Last Knight, Punisher: War Zone and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe launcher, Iron Man.

Then there’s the directors, with the film previously pegged to be helmed by McG, whose exit was followed by the auspicious entrance of David Goyer as writer and director. While Goyer’s incredible attention to the world-building of Krypton in Man of Steel made us wonder what fun he could have in Eternia, he exited the chair because of scheduling conflicts with his upcoming Foundation TV series for Apple. Currently, Aaron and Adam Nee are set as its directors.

The project seemed to gain a little momentum with Mattel’s reveal of its in-house movie studio, Mattel Films, which is set to launch with the now-developing Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie. Moreover, in addition to Masters of the Universe, Mattel planned to bring another of its signature brands to the screen, teaming with Warner for a live-action Hot Wheels movie. So you’d think that this movie might finally be moving forward. But…

Masters of the Universe Movie Release Date

Masters of the Universe movie had been set for release on March 5, 2021, and a report from THR indicated that the film could go directly to Netflix. It would be a good fit, since Netflix is the home to the excellent She-Ra and the Princesses of Power animated series and an upcoming He-Man animated series from Kevin Smith.