KICK-ASS 2 Director Jeff Wadlow Shares Details on His MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Script
Art By Gerald Parel
Back in 2014 Kick-Ass 2 director, Jeff Wadlow was attached to write and direct the new feature film adaptation of Masters of the Universe. Things ended up not working out, but in a recent interview with Collider, the director opened up and shared some details on what he was looking to do.
One thing that he says that I found interesting is that he was trying to do what Marvel did with Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok, before Marvel did it. He wanted to bring that kind of irreverent, playful, and fun approach, but with Masters of the Universe. But Sony Pictures wanted more of a serious straightforward fantasy tone. He explains:
"I had a really irreverent take on Masters of the Universe, and the studio, at the time, was very focused on a Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings take. I love He-Man. I still have all my original figures from the ‘80s. That’s how I got the job. I brought them in and put them on the table and was like, ‘This is why I’m a director!’ I wrote a scene where Prince Adam meets Ram Man and says to him, ‘So, they call you Ram Man, huh?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘Do you like that name?’ And Ram Man goes, ‘I’m owning it.’ So, there was an irreverence to it, but at the time, that just didn’t gel with what they wanted to do.
"It’s interesting now, with Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy. I think that’s sort of what I was trying to do, but either I was too early or they just never saw it that way. That’s the weird thing about making movies in the studio system. You can have a take and a real point of view, but if it doesn’t line up with the point of view of the people who are writing the checks, it doesn’t matter. That’s why working with Jason [Blum] has been so fantastic. He’s changing the way that movies are made. He’s basically saying, ‘As long as we keep the budget down, it doesn’t matter what I think. I want you to do what you think is best.’"
That certainly would have been an interesting take, and it after seeing what Marvel has done, the direction that Wadlow wanted to take it could have actually worked. However, I also like the direction of having a similar tone as The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.
It will be interesting to see the direction that the studio ends up taking the film project at this point. David Goyer was the most recent filmmaker attached to the project, but he ended up jumping out of it. There's no word on who the studio has in mind to bring on board at this time, but I hope they get someone who can handle it and give us the best Masters of the Universe film possible.
What do you think of what Wadlow wanted to do? Who would you like to see come on board to write and direct the film?