The Hollywood Reporter has word that Sony is looking to play it safe with its upcoming Master of the Universe reboot by skipping the theaters and heading straight to Netflix.
The film currently has a March 2021 release date pegged, but THR reports that Sony chairman Tom Rothman is “exploring the prospect of getting risk-free cash for the pricey project by making it for Netflix instead.” The two are currently in preliminary talks.
Sony has been developing Masters of the Universe since 2007, but the reboot didn’t really begin to pick up some serious steam until over this last year. Noah Centineo is signed on to star as He-Man, and his casting actually gives this potential Netflix deal weight. Centineo starred in the popular Netflix rom-com To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Netflix also has the series She-Ra and The Princesses of Power currently streaming, and Kevin Smith’s He-Man anime series continuation in development. There’s a whole lot of goodness in this Masters of the Universe reboot that Netflix would no doubt be interested in acquiring.
Sony is coming off a couple of hits (Spider-Man: Far From Home and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and a miss (Men in Black: International) this year. It’s getting harder and harder to predict what will do well in theaters nowadays if it isn’t a Marvel film or already established blockbuster franchise that hasn’t been dormant for close to a decade. Selling MOTU to Netflix might be Sony’s safest play to make.
Do you think Masters of the Universe should get a theatrical release? Do you think Netflix would want to have the film on its streaming service?
