Several years ago, toy company Hasbro set out to rule the multiplex with film adaptations of some of its most valuable properties. One of those was the 1970s action figure lineMicronauts, which landed animatorDean DeBloisas its director in 2019. However, in the intervening years, the movie failed to materialize. Collider’sSteve Weintraubrecently spoke about the film’s status with DeBlois, who has just made his live-action directorial debut withHow To Train Your Dragon. DeBlois revealed that behind-the-scenes turmoil derailed the film, as Hasbro partnered with a variety of production companies.
“Micronautsjust got stalled. It got stalled because there’s been a changing of hands. So, Hasbro had their own film division; Paramount was involved. They then partnered with E1, and now they’re back to having their own film division.So in all of those exchanges, everybody has different ideas of what a Micronauts movie should be.And so it just continues to sort of move along slowly.”
DeBlois also shared that the film was written, but his original script had undergone various rewrites, explaining, “I did a script, but it changed as production companies changed hands.So, there were new ambitions and new ideas of what the movie should be. I continue to ride that slow train of development just to see where everyone aligns.”
Hasbro has attempted to leverage its 100-year history into a slate of films, but so far it has only truly succeeded with the Transformers franchise. The threeG.I. Joefilms have failed to set the box office on fire, while adaptations ofBattleshipandJem and the Hologramshave flopped. Other adaptations, includingMicronauts,Rom,Visionaries, andM.A.S.K., have stalled out completely.
What Is ‘Micronauts’ About?
An American localization of the JapaneseMicromantoy line by the toy company Mego,Micronautsfirst hit shelves in 1976. A series of small but highly articulated action figures with a number of interchangable parts, the story of the Micronauts was created by writerBill Mantloand artistMichael Goldenin aMarvelcomic book series. The series, which outlasted theMicronautstoys and Mego itself, detailed the struggles of the rebellious Micronauts against the tyrannical Baron Karza in the atom-sized Microverse; when theMicronautscharacters came to “our” world, they were the size of action figures. The Micronauts were acquired by Hasbro after Mego’s bankruptcy, and have been revived with a variety of comic book series over the years.
What Is ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ About?
A live-action adaptation of the 2010 animated film of the same name, which was itself an adaptation of the 2003 fantasy novel byCressida Cowell,How To Train Your Dragontakes place on the island of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been at war for centuries.Mason Thamesplays Hiccup, the goofball son of the island’s chieftain, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler). Intending to hunt down and slay a dragon, Hiccup instead befriends the creature, dubbing it “Toothless.” Their friendship may change the island of Berk forever. DeBlois, who co-directed and co-wrote the original animated film, has returned to write and direct the live-action remake.
