It was over two months ago that we first reported the news that Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson would be in charge of Warner Bros.' He-Man movie. Now, in typical fashion, the trades are finally catching up. Variety reported today that Stevenson is officially on board to direct Master of the Universe, which Joel Silver will produce.
They did scoop the first of us, though, by reporting the story of how Stevenson decided to take the job. "There was this locked bunker that you had to be escorted into. It was filled with art, some generated by the Mattel artists, and I looked around, and said, 'I get it.' We started formulating a specific vision for costumes, creatures, architecture, and the creation of a mythology and look for a whole world we'll create."
Stevenson's background in animation may give him a leg up in creating the movie, given his experience with models and turning plasticky things into actual characters. He's specifically out to avoid a repeat of 1987's version of the story which, aside from Frank Langella as Skeletor, doesn't have much to recommend it. While it's still too soon to tell whether an animation veteran is really the right guy for something so huge and live-action, now's the time for crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.
