Signs point toward his work on G.I. Joe: Retaliation having turned out disastrously, but Jon M. Chu might come out of that fiasco well-off yet. Case in point: Deadline has him pegged as Sony’s pick for Masters of the Universe, their live-action cinematic spin on the beloved (or, I think, nostalgia-cushioned) ’80s cartoon series.

There have been a bounty of rumors pertaining to such a project for years and years now — it’s one of those franchises you can look at and say “this would so obviously be on screens some day” — though the announcement is still something of a surprise. Not just because Chu recently landed in hot water over another geek property-based movie; also because I just didn’t know somebody was still trying to make Masters of the Universe. Still, a script by Michael Finch and Alex Litvak (Predators) — whose plot should come down to something along the lines of “He-Man fights the evil Grayskull” — is in the studio’s hands and ready to be shot.

The proper discussions are still being conducted right now, and Chu has to accomplish two things in regards to Retaliation: Work on the 3D conversion and shoot a few new scenes — probably the same ones everyone insists are for “3D enhancement” — before it starts to really coalesce. I doubt the success or failure of that work will have much of an impact on him getting the job — the circumstances behind needing to do either in the first place sure didn’t — nor will him getting the job impact my hopes for Masters of the Universe. I’ll leave an interpretation up to you.

What would you think of Chu taking this beloved property under his wing?