Director Jon M. Chu leaves Masters of the Universe

[Captain Atkin]

Director Jon M. Chu recently dropped out of the running to direct a live-action Masters of the Universe movie to concentrate on directing G.I. Joe 3 (the sequel to his hit film, GI Joe: Retaliation). Jon M. Chu has vacated the director’s chair on the He-Man movie, stating:

“It was timing. We did so much for Masters, and the script is awesome. I love that project. I would have loved to do it. The problem with Joe is that we have a specific timeline and I need to be on that timeline. Masters wasn’t ready to go, at that moment. And I have a loyalty to G.I. Joe. I don’t feel like I’ve fulfilled the promise I gave, to bring everything I love about Joe to the script. I feel like we did a lot of foundational stuff. We cleared the way. We brought the movie back to life, but at the same time, there’s so much more to do, to make it even better. I learned a lot on the last one, and I want to put that into practice and make this one even better, and make it have life for many, many movies in the future, whether I’m doing them or not.???

[Robzilla]

This doesn't bode well for this movie. I really suspect it will never make it out of development, sadly.

[Captain Atkin]

I think we will get a MOTU movie in the near future. Many popular properties take years to get made into movies. Batman was in development hell for over 10 years before Tim Burton's 1989 Batman was released. The fact that they have a well known screenwriter like Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean) working on a script for Masters of the Universe is very encouraging.

[paulioscorchio]

Could see this coming. Can't expect a director who is fairly in demand to wait around.

[Black Zodac]

I don't think Jon Chu would have been the right director for MOTU. I hated GI Joe 2. That film may have made money, but that doesn't mean it was any good. You need a director who will embrace the material.

[Anti-Guru]

This is great news! But honestly, I'd rather it didn't get made... because I know that nobody, and I mean NOBODY would ever be able to do it right. BTW I saw that GIJOE film Chu made... It was awful! I thought the first movie sucked too, but it was actually way better then the sequel. Good movies just aren't made anymore.

[Guest]

The first GI Joe movie may have made $302,469,017 ( with a budget of $175 million), but it was far from good. I could go on about how flawed it was, but its simply not worth it. Even as a JGL fan, his Cobra Commander made me cringe. At some point during the audition process he should have slapped the writers for their ridiculous love triangle. I'm not even going to talk about the rest of the casting choices. Man, did this movie stink.

The sequel to this trite, formulaic, special effects laden mess, which made a surprising $400,205,143 surpassing its predecessor (budget $130 million) was even more forgettable. I skipped seeing it in theater, and to be honest, it wasn't much of an enjoyable free download. I was a huge GI Joe fan, but these movies, kind of stunk. After watching Retaliation, I promptly deleted it. It wasn't worth the space on my drive.

Though John Carter of Mars made $284,139, 100 (with a cost of 250 million) and would be considered by most, a box office bomb, it was far more enjoyable as a film than the aforementioned Joe films.

John Chu may be 'in demand', but his movie credits are awful. Gi Joe? Step Up? Justin Bieber? Sorry if I sound like a pompous movie critic, but I want better for MOTU.

[Anti-Guru]

Most people think because a movie does well at the box office, it has to be a good movie. Wrong! It seems most people habitually go to the movies and see anything and everything and like it. Could it be people are in denial and refuse to admit that they spent $12 or more per ticket for a disappointing, wasted 2 hours??? Or are they just mindless drones going to the movie for the free popcorn and surround sound??? Who knows? I hate to sound insulting but, I think the majority of modern day movie goers just want to see the eye candy. They could care less about good flow and story telling... It's all about special effects. Studios know this which is why they make movies the way they do, no plot and a ton of visual effects. A friend of mine openly admitted that she doesn't care about anything but the "graphics" (meaning CGI/visual effects) in movies. I find it very sad.

[MegaGearMax]

If I get awesome stuff for the brand if the movies do well, who cares? Michael Bay's TF might not have been straight G1, but look at all of the great things that Transformers fans have gotten from the movies doing well. Multiple cartoons, video games, multiple comic books, multiple toylines, Masterpiece versions, novels, artbooks -- and most isn't about the movie Transformers.

Yeah, it would be nice if a MOTU movie had a great story and compelling characters. But the chances of that happening are astronomically low. So long as a MOTU increases brand awareness, gains a new generation of fans and stays at retail, the movies have done their job.

[Robzilla]

I just read somewhere that Chu was really thinking of using Channing Tatum to play He-Man. Channing Tatum? This makes me glad the Chu is off the project. I really don't want that guy anywhere near He-man. I don't care what Dolph Lungren says

[MegaGearMax]

Chu's G.I. Joe did so well that it got a sequel. There's a G.I. Joe THREE coming up. That's more exposure for the G.I. Joe brand to undo all the damage from Rise of COBRA. While G.I. Joe: Retailiation wasn't Citizen Kane, it pretty much kept G.I. Joe relevant until the sequel hits.

[Widukind]

Not interested one bit in a new MOTU movie, since this will probably bring a new MOTU toyline.MOTUC is the last toyline that I'll collect, and the last Mattel product I'll ever buy. As to Chu's reputation, I'll just say this : he's totally unknown to me, and the GI Joe movies didn't interest me at all, so this didn't help.

[GREP-A-TOR]

Remember, Chu did not write the script or cast the actors. As far as action scenes go and camera work, it was a solid movie. Singer did the first one - another solid action guy.

As a huge GI JOE fan, the movies fell short, but at least something was out there.

Now Transformers. No. Michael Bay is the great Satan. TF3 was a steaming pile of crap.

BUT - if there was any chance of Channing being it - I glad he is no longer the director.

The director will only be a piece of the puzzle. The BUDGET, MPAA Rating, cast and special effects company will make or break this as well.