Lost City Directors Aaron And Adam Nee Reveal The Inspiration For Their Upcoming Masters Of The Universe Film - Exclusive
Now that they've found the keys to "The Lost City" with the success of the hit romantic adventure comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, filmmaker brothers Aaron and Adam Nee have their eyes set on their next prize. After helming "The Lost City" together, the Nees are tackling an out-of-this-world franchise by writing and directing the long-awaited live-action movie "Masters of the Universe."
Set for a 2023 release, "Masters of the Universe," of course, has a lot of history behind it, beginning as a Mattel action figure toy line in 1981. Since then, "Masters of the Universe" — which includes such iconic characters as He-Man and Skeletor — has become a successful multimedia franchise worldwide that has extended into comic books, video games, an animated film, and several animated TV series, including the latest iteration from filmmaker Kevin Smith. The "Masters of the Universe" franchise also spawned a live-action feature film in 1987, starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor.
Since then, Mattel has been trying to bring "Masters of the Universe" back in live-action film form, and the Nee Brothers — who proudly come from the independent film world — are undertaking their biggest adventure yet with the new movie set to be produced by Netflix, as they told Looper in an exclusive interview.
The Nee brothers' passion for 'Masters of the Universe' began with the franchise's toys
When chatting with Looper to discuss their work on "The Lost City," the Nee brothers revealed that, like many people, they grew up playing with the "Masters of the Universe" action figures. In a way, they said, those toys are responsible for their occupations today.
"We're super excited to be jumping into 'Masters of the Universe,'" Aaron Nee said. "Playing with those toys was a formative part of us learning how to tell stories and imagine other worlds, and that kind of childhood experience of the excitement and empowerment that came from playing is what we're hoping to bring to the screen."
The Nees have cast "West Side Story" and "American Horror Story" star Kyle Allen as He-Man in "Masters of the Universe," while the rundown of who will be playing the other major roles in the film is yet to be announced. But now that the brothers have worked with Channing and Brad Pitt on "The Lost City," are they tempted to invite them into the 'Universe'?
"Come on over! Give us a cameo," Adam Nee said, laughing.
Also starring Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar Nunez, Patti Harrison, and Daniel Radcliffe, "The Lost City" is now in theaters.