We all knew this was coming, no 8-ball required.
Mattel are determined to make their mark in cinema by turning innocuous toys into the subject material for thrillers; and why wouldn’t they, while everyone’s keeping an eye on the much publicised superhero war between Disney and Warner Bros. there’s been a secret escalating battlezone forming, with Hasbro’s successful (and occasionally less successful) toy line movie releases and Mattel, who won’t be ignored in the race.
Deadline reports that Mattel has elected to bring micro-budget production superstars Blumhouse into the fold to make their Magic 8 Ball thriller; Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island director Jeff Wadlow is attached to direct.
Mattel has a bunch of other projects in varying stages of development including Masters of the Universe, Barbie, American Girl, Hot Wheels and View Master.
What may be somewhat surprising is Mattel’s endeavour to bring a narrative story out of their non-characterful licenses; Hasbro’s Battleship (while not being the worst thing ever in blockbuster releases, retrospectively) only comfortably beating its impressive $200M budget after international ticket sales.
But no doubt this risk is what drew them to Blumhouse in the first place.
Wadlow’s career isn’t exactly all peaks, but his work with Blumhouse on Truth or Dare has earned him a position as a go-to director for the company; while I think his taking of the reigns for Kick Ass 2 from Matthew Vaughn certainly showed his directing chops. He’s also on board to helm the spy caper Danger Girl, based on the comic by J. Scott Campbell.
What do you think, Wasteoids? Ready to peer into the future of thrillers? Hint: they may all be based on random toybox items.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!