Hot on the heels of wrapping up his critically acclaimed animated ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ trilogy earlier this year, filmmaker Dean DeBlois is set to transition over into the world of live action filmmaking. The Hollywood Reporter reports that DeBlois has been tapped by Hasbro and Paramount Pictures to write and direct his first live action feature: ‘Micronauts,’ an adaptation of Hasbro’s toys. Hasbro’s Brian Goldner, Stephen Davis and Greg Mooradian will produce the film via the company’s film division, AllSpark Pictures.
Micronauts were a popular line of action figures made in the late 1970’s and early 80’s by the now defunct Mego Corporation, in turn based on a series of Japanese toys called Microman. Eventually Marvel Comics started a comic series based on the toy line, providing the action figures with an established lore and narrative of a small band of heroes wage an intergalactic resistance against a power-hungry dictator named Baron Karza.
While previous attempts at adapting the franchise to the big screen were said to follow a different narrative than that of the comics, it remains to be seen what exact direction DeBlois’ film will go in story-wise. So far, THR could only report that his film has been described as “centering on a group of intergalactic explorers.”
The site also added that Hasbro and Paramount recruited DeBlois in order to capture the same “family friendly” tone that he brought to his ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ trilogy and his co-directorial Disney classic ‘Lilo & Stitch.’
Source: The Hollywood Reporter