TheAction Manmovie is on like Donkey Kong, withThe Muppetsdirector James Bobin set to helm the project. The movie was first talked about as a movie back in 2012 whenEmmett/Furla Films secured the rightsfrom Hasbro. Additionally, movies for Monopoly and Hungry Hungry Hippos were to be made, but none of those projects ever got off of the ground. Monopoly was supposed to be the first of the Hasbro movies to start production in 2013, but was later announced again in 2015.
Action Manis being written byPaddington 2scribe Simon Farnaby, which is promising for the project along with James Bobin. The solid partnership will bring England’s answer toAmerica’s G.I. Joeto the big screen. No release date has been set and the movie is said to be in the very early stages of pre-production. It will be interesting to see what kind of demand there is for anAction Manmovie. Paramount and Hasbro have yet to make a comment about the release, so there’s not a whole lot of information out there as of now.
TheAction Manfigures were put out in the UK by Palitoy as a licensed copy of America’s G.I. Joe in 1966. In 1964 Palitoy sales director Hal Belton brought a new toy from America called G.I. Joe to give to his grandson. Later, he realized that it was well received by his grandson and his friends so he took the toy and presented it to general manager Miles Fletcher. Fletcher and his production director Brian Wybrow contacted Hasbro at theNew York Toy Fairthe following year and a deal was struck. Samples were then acquired from Hasbro and marketing research was carried out, which had Palitoy employees take samples home for their children to test.
Action Manwas an instant hit amongst children in the UK and was produced from 1966 to 1984. During the first four years of production, the toys were replicas of the American G.I. Joes, but they were later changed to reflect the military uniforms of the UK in 1970, while keeping the same figures. Additionally, Palitoy started upgrading the toys, giving them gripping hands and adding weapons that were not seen in their American counterparts.
As previously noted, it will be interesting to see how well theAction Manmovie is received in the United States.Paddington 2is continuing to rake in the money at theworldwide box office, soAction Manmay be able to benefit from having the same screenwriter.James Bobinstarted his career on theAli G Showand is the co-creator ofFlight of the Conchordsand was recently attached to direct the21 Jump StreetandMen in Blackcrossover movie that has since been put on hold for the time being. you may check out the announcement of theAction Manmovie viaDeadline.
