The last we heard, Hasbro’s plans for a movie based on the classic Kenner toyline M.A.S.K. had been scrapped. Now, it seems as though that isn’t the case – because the director behind Fate of the Furious, F. Gary Grey, has been tapped to bring the series to theatres.
The, err, masked heroes and villains of the 1985 M.A.S.K. animated series. Image: DIC Entertainment
Deadline reports that Grey – who is also in talks to direct the Men in Black quasi-reboot starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson – has closed a deal with Paramount and Hasbro to bring the multimedia M.A.S.K. franchise to life. The series followed the members of the titular Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand (look, it was the ’80s) and their leader, Matt Trakker, as they hunted down the hilariously named Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem in their fleet of transforming combat vehicles.
Like Transformers before it, it’s a great idea for a kid’s toy line and a tentpole action flick – and you might as well get the director behind one of the biggest-earning vehicular action movies of all time to help turn it into one. Still, M.A.S.K. seems like a strange choice to truly kick off Hasbro’s plans for an interconnected universe based on its own brands in earnest.
[Deadline]