Paramount hopes you remember Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K., and ROM, launches new shared universe
The shared cinematic universe is a major studio’s wet dream. Each film acts as a commercial for another movie in the series, but you don’t necessarily have to pay the same cast members to come back for each one. They’re like sequels and prequels, but not really, and it’s even better if they’re based on some sort of pre-existing brand, particularly aimed towards Generation Nostalgia (i.e., men and women in their late 30s and early 40s with expendable income to spend on toys). In other words, in the weirdest bit of news you may read today, Paramount is looking to launch a series of films that will tie in the adventures of the Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K., and ROM into the world of G.I. Joe.
The HCU (Hasbro Cinematic Universe), unfortunately, will probably not incorporate the Transformers. But the whole thing is still in its developmental stages: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has set Akiva Goldman to put together a writers’ room for a new G.I. Joe as well as Micronauts, but the word is he will also be in charge of this proposed big-screen toy box.
It’s easy to write off big-screen adaptations of popular toy lines from the ’80s, but this development is interesting, as these Hasbro properties were never as big as something like Masters Of The Universe. (There are certainly collectors of Micronauts, but it’s doubtful that a Green Space Glider would fetch as ridiculous sum of money as an MOC Yak-Face at Sotheby’s.) Plus, these proprieties are all from separate Hasbro lines of different shapes and sizes—the M.A.S.K. action figures were considerably smaller than Visionaries—so this is the Hollywood equivalent of a kid playing in the sandbox where imagination completely takes hold and anything goes. The films will more than likely devolve into origin stories with dull plotting and third acts that involve a giant spaceship crashing to earth, though.
If it does work out, perhaps the Sectaurs could team up with the Supernaturals to fight the Inhumanoids? Maybe the Boglins and Madballs could even enter the golden age of television. There‘s certainly no shortage of action figures from the ’80s just waiting to be rebooted, repackaged, and re-bought.