Netflix Scraps Planned He-Man Movie Masters of the Universe

Skeletor must be in charge over at Netflix: The streamer is pulling the plug on Masters of the Universe, a planned live-action movie adaptation of the He-Man animated series and toy line, our sister site Variety reports. Toy maker Mattel is shopping the project to other studios.

The decision to scrap the film reportedly came down to “budget concerns,” with Netflix beginning with a production budget over $200 million and then trying unsuccessfully to pare that down to $150 million. Sources tell Variety that more than $30 million had already been spent on the project.

Masters of the Universe was to be based on the popular ’80s cartoon and accompanying toy line, which pitted muscle-bound prince He-Man against the evil Skeletor. Kyle Allen (American Horror Story, The Path) was cast to play He-Man, replacing the previously cast Noah Centineo. The Nee Brothers (The Lost City) were set to direct and co-write the script with David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).

But Mattel has a big-screen blockbuster on its hands with Barbie, opening in theaters this weekend, and is hopeful that Masters of the Universe can become another big franchise for them. “It’s as big as Marvel and DC,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz boasts to The New Yorker. “It’s hundreds of pages of characters and sorcerers and vehicles and weaponry — you name it. And then you flip through the pages, and here’s a movie, and here’s a movie, and here’s a TV show… it’s endless!”