With “G.I. Joe 3” in the mix and rumors of “Star Trek 3” as well, it would appear that director Jon M. Chu had one blockbuster too many on his plate. So, sorry He-Man fans, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for your movie.
THR reports that while “Masters of the Universe” has landed yet another writer to try and get a script in order—this time Terry Rossio (“The Lone Ranger” and every “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie)—it will be moving on without Chu. No reason has been given for his departure, though perhaps he woke up one morning and realized he was attached to direct “Masters of the Universe” and came to his senses.
In other director news: Deadline reports that “Parkland” helmer Peter Landesman has been slated to direct “Down By the River,” an adaptation of the non-fiction book by Charles Bowden. Landesman will also re-write the thriller about “the younger brother of a high-level DEA official and former undercover agent [who] is murdered in broad daylight in El Paso, Texas. After discovering the hit was ordered by the drug kingpin across the river in Juarez, Mexico, possibly as retribution for the agent’s past actions, the DEA official heads across the border for some big-time revenge—not only against the killers but the DEA as well.” Sounds promising.
Deadline also reveals that Jamie Travis, the man behind “For A Good Time Call…,” will direct “When We First Met.” Penned by John Whittington, the story follows “a man who spends the perfect first night with the girl of his dreams only to get stuck in the friend zone for the next three years—until he gets the chance to travel back in time to change that night, and his fate, over and over again.” Okay, then.
Finally, to bring it back to Chu, here’s a commercial he recently directed for Microsoft Surface.