Sony Nearly Lost ‘Masters Of The Universe’ Film Rights

Film rights can be slippery things that studios sometimes need to fight to hold onto or else. Such was the case when Sony nearly lost the rights to produce a film based on the incredibly popular Masters of the Universe toy line.

This from The Hollywood Reporter, who reports that Sony has spent $15 million on trying to develop a Masters of the Universe feature film since 2007. A frustrated Mattel, the toy maker of the franchise, was tired of waiting for the project to get off the ground and began shopping the film rights around to other studios.

Last year, the film rights to two hot Mattel properties– Barbie and Masters of the Universe— expired at Sony Pictures. While Barbie ended up going to Sony competitor Warner Bros, the studio was able to maintain the rights to Masters of the Universe after negotiations with Mattel.

As of November, Iron Man writing duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have taken over writing duties. The pair recently finished writing Men In Black: International for Sony.

Are you excited to see a new take on Masters of the Universe? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Here is the synopsis for Men In Black: International:

The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.

Directed by F. Gary Gray from a script written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, Men in Black: International stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, with Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson.

Men in Black: International will be released in theaters on June 14, 2019.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter