Dreamworks working on a She-Ra Show?

SDCC Exclusive 200X She-Ra has rooted hair, soft good
fabric cape and a comb. Could this be what's in store
for a future She-Ra line?

Apparently this claim has reared its head again, after being shot down by Mattel a year or so ago. Now, Dreamworks has purchased Classic Media - the entertainment arm that held the rights to the He-Man and She-Ra shows. With Dreamworks making such a move, it's inevitable that hopes and theories are going to come about - putting properties like She-Ra back into the limelight again.

At the recent Masters of the Universe and Thundercats convention Power-Con/Thunder-Con, Ian Richter, a producer on the 2002 Mike Young Production He-Man series, said that Dreamworks had "big plans" for She-Ra. This is a pretty general statement, but now that it is out there, fans are frothing at the mouth to see this form into some sort of reality.

Girls brands are doing better than boys toys. Brands like Barbie, Monster High, Bratz, Tinkerbell and others are running strong. I don't see a She-Ra show or DTV happening without a toy brand, or other merchandising effort - one always builds up the other. So Dreamworks, and possibly Mattel, are seeing that returning MOTU to retail is probably best done with the She-Ra brand at this juncture - and she will work best on DTV.

Principle figures from the Tinkerbell toy line

Think Tinkerbell - who has a strong series of beautifully-done DTV movies (4 released, 2 upcoming) and a supporting toy line to go with it. This is the perfect model for She-Ra. If she builds up a following, and does well in the DTV market and merchandising realms, then she could possibly expand to television OR test the burgeoning internet TV market, and release an ongoing series directly to Netflix or Hulu (who have both been expanding by producing original programming).

With Tinkerbell doing so well, She-Ra's tone has no need to go fluffy and funny like other brands. Tinkerbell is all about adventure, and Tinks herself is pretty tomboyish. She-Ra's tone DOES have to be balanced - it can't go too far, or be too edgy. Perhaps He-Man and Hordak's roles are scaled back - He-Man has a more Bow/Ken connection to the brand, and Hordak plays a sort of "Emperor Palpatine" role to Etherian Horde Leader Catra. The brand can still have its connection to MOTU, but it is IMPERATIVE to put the She-Ra brand front and center, and make it more independent than it ever was. More characters have to appeal to the girls market, but at the same time perhaps have an "IN" for boys (or at least older collectors who are less likely to be swayed by rigid gender lines).

Right now, there is no true news as to what is going on with Dreamworks and She-Ra - there is no official press release, or dependable news article stating this. The aforementioned is just a likely scenario of the direction the She-Ra brand can head. Hopefully, Mr. Richter has some weight at Dreamworks, and can bring his "off the record" statements to a reality that many fans have been waiting to see for more than 20 years.

3rd Party Toy Makers & MOTUC

Masters of the Universe Classics, or MOTUC, has become a robust line with 94 released toys - including action figures, beasts, vehicles and display stands and weapon packs...and there's more to come! This exclusive online collector-grade toy line has been around since late 2008 - so it's going into its 5th year of existence. By ALL standards, MOTUC is a VERY successful line. One of the great things about this toy line is its versatility - it doesn't take much to create a new character with existing parts and imagination. Collectors and customizers alike have produced some awesome results in using existing parts, and even creating new parts, to create a character based on existing mythology, or a totally new character.

Transformers, the behemoth toy line managed by Mattel's rival Hasbro, has experienced an unprecedented boom in 3rd Party companies that provide product offerings that Hasbro just doesn't seem to be willing or able to provide - yet fans and collectors are frothing at the mouth to get them. From weapons, to alternate heads, to extra accessories, to sticker decals, to entire figures, and even play sets, Transformers 3rd Parties are rivaling what Hasbro can produce - in some cases, the 3rd party products are superior or more revolutionary to what Hasbro has released.

This 3rd Party trend is no stranger to Masters of the Universe...

I'd say that the MOTUC product line is relatively young compared to the Transformers products that have constantly been on the retail shelves for more than ten years. The TF 3rd party experience has evolved with Transformers over the years. In parallel, MOTU 3rd party "companies" are organizing and growing, but they're relatively young as well. The 3rd party trend with TF has experienced a significant boom in the past couple years - it's just been a matter of organization on the part of those small "companies", and the obvious success of selling such sought-after "custom-made" items. I think with MOTU, many of the folks who are capable of providing 3rd party goods and services are slowly discovering the potential of the market. If MOTUC is around long enough to support continued 3rd party growth, I suspect we will see expansion beyond already-produced alternate heads and weapons, and actually get armor sets, full-blown figures, and perhaps even beasts, vehicles and playsets.

There are already budding outlets for 3rd party Castle Grayskulls, but I've heard some rocky news on those fronts...waiting lists exist and are quite lengthy, so obvious mass production and distribution issues must be overcome, here's an example: http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-Deadly-Ground/353030601395875

Manta Raider by Rudy Obrero & Joe Amaro

We've also seen the first 3rd party vehicle getting pushed. The Manta Raider offers great potential for quality 3rd party products to come:  http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/03/08/manta-raider-custom-motuc-vehicle/

There's great potential for 3rd party companies in MOTUC - I just think the entities that are capable of filling the rolls are not ready yet if you get my drift. All sorts of logistics need to be worked out if you're going to step in this roll and provide products to a large buyer group.

Wonder Woman: A Movie Done Right

There's a lot of talk about DC Comics/Warner Brothers launching a Justice League movie, now that Marvel has proven that a superhero movie can be done, and can be VERY successful.  It seems as if the WB and DC are panicking, scrambling to get their ducks in a row to "catch up" to Marvel's success. It's probably not a good idea to rush something that Marvel spent more than a decade developing. But maybe DC and WB will prove me wrong.

The Nolan Batman trilogy has come to a close, and now Zack Snyder's Man of Steel comes to theaters in 2013. Man of Steel could be a huge blockbuster, a luckwarm entry, or a major flop - we just don't know yet. All indicators point to this film being epic - as it looks to have avoided making the mistakes of its predecessor: Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. There were high hopes for Green Lantern too, but that didn't go so well...

Man of Steel is being marked as the beginning of DC's Cinematic Universe, with rumors abound of Wonder Woman making a cameo. With Batman taking a break until the actual Justice League film debuts, the question has been asked: which superheroes are going to appear in this JL movie, and of them, which will get their own movies?

Out of the 6-7 heroes that should star, Wonder Woman should definitely get her solo film, and it should play a key roll into leading into the team-up movie. The Princess of Themyscira is part of the DC Trinity: Superman (deemed the first superhero), Batman (the second superhero, and the first superhero without superpowers) and Wonder Woman (the first female superhero). Superman and Batman are secured with films. Now it's Diana Prince's turn. There's been debate though as to whether she should get her own movie - does she have what it takes to pull it off? I say yes.

WW is a hard character to pull off for DC/WB for 2 reasons:

1. 1. She's female, and for some reason, the right forces are not in play to pull her off. With movie series like Aliens, Resident Evil, Underworld, Kill Bill and to a lesser degree Tomb Raider, there is absolutely no excuse as to why/how WW couldn't be done well. 
2. She's based in Greek Mythology. This is where WW can be a hard sell for many movie goers. It's very difficult to combine sci-fi and fantasy. If little effort is done, the project comes off like oil floating in water. But it CAN be done, it HAS to be done if you're going to put WW with more reality-based, sci-fi heroes like Batman and Superman respectively.

I say take the best elements of WW from over the years (there's no need to reinvent the wheel - there's plenty of material to build a live action WW movie with).

Wonder Woman vs. Ares

1. Take the best elements of the Lynda Carter series (no camp). Have Diana Prince working for the IADC in Washington DC with Steve Trevor. Putting her in the roll of secret agent would add an angle to her character that is befitting of a strong female role, and put her in a logical position to deal with some of the conflict that arises. This is likely the more mainstream way WW is perceived, and the best way to present her to general audiences.  
2. The Wonder Spin, and the various WW suits, weapons, vehicles and gadgets add another level of uniqueness to the character - she's got powers like Superman, and is resourceful like Batman.
3. Don't get caught up in the fact that WW is female. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character could have been male if you just read the script - just write the part, and let the actress to bring life to it.
4. Take the Thor approach to the gods by making them alien beings, or humans that were affected by alien technology - this is where you can tie in Darkseid and his planet full of minions, and set him up for the main JL villain. 
5. Work up WW's Rogue's Gallery - Ares is probably the best one to start with, perhaps team him up with lesser villains as minions.

Wonder Woman should come before the JL movie, as opposed to being introduced in it. Despite past female action movies going wrong - Supergirl, Electra, Catwoman - that doesn't mean a female action movie cannot be done. WW SHOULD be the beginning of female action movies done right.

Celebrating 30 Years of Princess of Power

The 30th Anniversary of Masters of the Universe is here! The Masters of the Universe Classics line is going full force, and there's a lot of fun things happening with the line, and with the franchise, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary. Within the past couple of days, we've gotten a reveal of a San Diego Comic Con exclusive - Vykron, a character based on a concept that literally launched the Masters of the Universe toy line back in 1982. There's been a lot of heated debate about the figure, with many fans/collectors wondering if the MOTU 30th Anniversary is going the way they'd hoped.

Vykron and his 3 "battlesuits"

The MOTU 30th Anniversary will see a lot of merchandise being released by Classic Media and Mattel in the form of t-shirts, cell phone skins, comic books and more. Along with its standard 12-Month Subscription, Mattel has launched a companion line of subscription figures - totally new figures that are being released specifically for the brand's 30th Anniversary. There are also mini comics being released in 2012 to celebrate. Even still, fans wonder if what has been done is enough, and if the efforts actually celebrate MOTU's 30th.

Indeed, it is essentially too late to remedy the efforts that have been executed to celebrate MOTU, but there is still time to campaign and petition for an awesome Princess of Power 30th Anniversary. There seems to be little expectation for any recognition of POP's 30th in 2015 - since POP has now been effectively absorbed into MOTU. But there has been very little done to recognize and celebrate POP in the MOTU anniversary efforts. And so we as fans should push Mattel to celebrate Princess of Power in 2015 - show Mattel that there is interest. Following is a list of potential efforts that could celebrate POP in 2015:

1. 2015 should have strong POP representation in the MOTUC line in all available slots - monthly, variant, beast/oversized, etc.
2. SDCC and other Convention exclusives should be POP-centric in 2015.
3. A comic book series featuring the MOTUC/200x version of the Secret of the Sword (She-Ra's origin story). This story has yet to be told.
4. A DTV (Direct to Video) cartoon movie that features the POP cast, or an animated MOTUC/200x Secret of the Sword movie.
5. POP merchandise
6. A commemorative series based on the vintage action figures - packaged like the vintage line with rooted hair and soft good clothes.
7. A "Then-And-Now" 2 Pack featuring a commemorative vintage figure packaged with it's MOTUC counter part.
8. A commemorative series based on the vintage figures, but with sculpted hair and clothing - packaged like vintage MOTU and accompanied by Horde figures to commemorate the original cartoon series.

Spread the word! Let Mattel know that Princess of Power deserves celebration and recognition in 2015!

Transformers 4 Cometh

UPDATED: 9/16/2012
There's been a a lot of talk about the next Transformers movie, which is tentatively scheduled for a June/July 2014 release. Despite vehement denials that he wouldn't return to the TF movie franchise, Michael Bay is indeed returning to direct the flick - looks like Paramount made an offer he couldn't refuse. With TF3 making 1.124 Billion, Paramount and Hasbro are compelled to keep the film series going, and whatever Bay did to bring in that kinda dough can't be turned away. But is it really ALL thanks to Michael Bay's genius, or is brand recognition, and the simple theme of giant alien transforming robots helping to rake in the cash too?

It is too early to know what TF4 is going to be - a continuation of the previous movies, a total reboot, or a mixture of both of these. Many fans are hoping for a turning point in how these movies are approached. Indeed Bay and his producers are promising a fresher take, taking out the questionable humor, and maybe offering more character and action. Only time will tell - my fear however is that we'll only get more of the same.
UPDATE: Due to a drop in toy sales, Hasbro is looking to bring in new Transformers, and more of them. The new movie will likely focus more on the new characters. http://screenrant.com/transformers-4-story-new-robots-cast/

Who's coming back?
As mentioned, many fans are hoping for a change. What we DO know is that Optimus Prime and Bumblebee will be mainstays in the film franchise for the foreseeable future. Hasbro learned a crucial lesson when they tried killing off Optimus in the '86 animated film - BIG MISTAKE. Plus, killing off Optimus again in the live action movies should be avoided at all costs (he died and was resurrected in REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) - it's become a running theme for any version of Optimus Prime to die off, and return in a great resurrection. As for Bumblebee - he's always been a popular part of the brand, being one of the only Transformers to get a figure released in all but one of the years of the original 80s line.

So, we know Optimus and Bumblebee will be there, what else is there? Based on comments from Bay and the producers, as well as some of the actors, most of the human cast of TF will not be returning. This could mean one of two things: 1. The human cast will simply be replaced with new humans (perhaps Marissa Fairborn and Daniel Whitwicky), or 2. More focus will be placed on the Transformers themselves, who admittedly have been backseaters in their own movies. Hopefully, the latter will occur - these movies just have too many humans clogging up the plots, leaving little opportunity to explore and focus on the true Cybertronian narrative. IF Bay and his cohorts are true to their word, this is the fresh take that a lot of fans new and old are looking for. Doing a movie without Spike...ahem, I mean Sam, will not hurt the movies - it just might push us into a direction where we get a more ideal TF movie. If the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can have a successful movie, not having humans in focal protagonist roles, then the TFs can do it too.

The Decepticons
Michael Bay made it a point to close out his TF trilogy by killing off ALL the big Decepticon baddies: Soundwave, Starscream, Shockwave and Megatron himself are all destroyed by the end of the film. But we HAVE to have a Decepticon threat. Most fans have been screaming for GALVATRON to take up command of the Decepticons. Galvatron is a reformatted, souped up version of Megatron - typically, Unicron is the force that resurrects Megatron in this scenario, and it seems to be the most logical direction to go. Megatron got a huge proverbial shafting in all 3 previous TF films: he spent most of the first movie on ice, only to have Spike...oops, Sam hand it to him after not even 20 minutes of screen time. In Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron is resurrected, but plays second fiddle to the Fallen, the true Decepticon Master. By the end of the film, a Matrix-powered Optimus wipes the floor with Megatron, succeeding in ripping off his cannon arm, and tearing off half of his face. Instead of coming back in DARK OF THE MOON all bad ass,

Megatron spends the film in pretty bad shape, again playing second fiddle to Optimus's jaded predecessor Sentinel Prime. Optimus again hands Megatron his own head, decaptitating him and ripping out his "spine". I don't know what Michael Bay had against Megs, but he never came off as the villain he should have been. Resurrecting him as Galvatron may be a good way to redeem the character, and offer a solid antagonist that audiences can root for.

The Story
The story could be anything. At this point though, the great MacGuffins: The Allspark, The Matrix, and The Space Bridge have all been used - it's probably time to change the formula a little...if you want to truly go for a fresh approach. I and many other fans have suggested a UNICRON TRILOGY. We know that TF4 will be successful, so there is room for some risk. I fear that "playing it safe" with the MacGuffin formula that was used and res-used for all 3 previous films COULD lead to a decline in the series. Why not plan for 3 films at once - at least create a loose treatment/plot line that carries through all 3 films, culminating with the third act of the third film. The Unicron Trilogy could ultimately be about the resurrection of Cybertron - as apparently there is still hope for the planet, despite Optimus's claims that Earth is home to the TFs now. Perhaps after the events of TF3, the Autobots are allowed to establish territories on Earth and the moon, seeing the rise of Autobot City, and the influx of new characters. With the scaling down of human casting, we could shift focus to more TFs - Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Kup, Springer and Blurr could be the new batch of Autobots to focus on.

TF4:
Galvatron comes to Earth - in search of Dark Energon. Under his command are new Decepticons: Cyclonus, Scourge, the Stunticons, the Quintessons, Seekers and Vehicons. The Quints are his scientists and engineers. Unbeknownst to the audience, these Decepticons are all Heralds of Unicron. The first film is about half of the Decepticons distracting the Autobots, while the other half track down Dark Energon - fuel needed to fully resurrect Unicron.

TF5:
Perhaps TF5 takes the story into space, with the previous film acting as a launching pad for this new turn. The Autobots discover that the Decepticons have returned to Cybertron, and are attempting to reshape the dead world for unknown purposes. Half of the Autobots remain on Earth to stop the Decepticon incursion, and their extraction of Dark Energon. The other half venture to Cybertron. TF5 could be the first time we the audience actually experience Cybertron in the story. TF5 comes to be about the Autobots finding the Key to Vector Sigma, a device that could resurrect the Allspark and reboot Cybertron. The Decepticons seek the Key to power the Heart of Unicron. Unicron could then take control of Cybertron, becoming it's new sentient core. In an ultimate clash, Hot Rod sacrifices himself to prevent Unicron from taking over Cybertron.

TF6:
TF6 sees the Decepticons fail in implanting Unicron as Cyberton's core, but succeed in establishing him on one of the moons. The Quintessons, having developed a distaste for Earth, look to use the planet's sun as an energy source to fully restore Unicron. Galvatron, finally giving up his ruse of loyalty, betrays the Quintessons, opting to destroy the sun, rather than drain it of its energy. The two Primes - Optimus and Rodimus work together to stabilize the sun, and use the excess energies to reboot Cybertron. Unicron awakens by siphoning energy from his "brother", and manifests to destroy his enemies. Rodimus and Optimus merge with the Allspark and send Unicron and his minions through the space bridge, and into a black whole. Transformers begin returning to Cybertron to repopulate it.

In Conclusion
We don't know what the next film(s) is going to be about, but with the above illustration, there's many possibilities and potential for the next outing. Only time will tell...

G.I. Joe 2 Sets to Redeem it's Predecessor

Though G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra did well enough to warrant a sequel, the film itself has been panned by critics and fans alike. Unlike its sister Hasbro franchise The Transformers, G.I. Joe has yet to find a niche for itself as a multimedia juggernaut. The strong sci-fi elements of Transformers, plus the transforming gimmick in itself, lend a lot more flexibility to the Robots in Disguise brand taking a gamble at successfully reinventing itself.

One of the factors that made G.I. Joe successful in the past was the fact that it could happen - despite some of those hokey terrorist plots. The first live action Joe movie strayed away from that, and didn't take itself seriously enough. Sure, you need some wiggle room - not wanting to take yourself too seriously - but the plot reeked of 80s cartoon hokiness...it was dated and contrived. For longtime fans, attempting to inject character conflict by making Cobra Commander the Baroness's brother, and Duke the Baroness's fiance was painful, forced and a major slap in the face. The corrosive nanobite tech, and the underwater sea base pushed limits as well.

Though I enjoyed the first Joe movie, I see its flaws, and welcome a more serious and faithful take on the Real American Hero. The sequel's director promises to give us the fans what we want, along with bringing non-fans in with action stars like Bruce Willis and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - it's a smart combo. We've already gotten glimpses of Cobra Commander, and a slightly redesigned Snake Eyes. And with characters like Lady Jaye, Flint, Roadblock, Stormshadow and Firefly, this film looks like it's on the right track. A sneak glimpse of Destro - perhaps leading into a third film also has my interest peaked.

Either way, I will be returning to the box office, and buying this film on DVD as well. I predict G.I. Joe: Retaliation will put this franchise back on track, and open up the brand for a much-deserved expansion.

My Toy Collection

Here are some rough video shots of the 200X NECA Snake Men, MOTUC and vintage POP aspects of my toy room: