Grayskull, the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie currently in development at Warners, is getting a script revision from a complete unknown: Evan Daugherty. How did he go from anonymity to fanboy Messiah (or possible pariah, if he screws up Orko's origin myth enough) in just one step? On the strength of an unproduced screenplay called Shrapnel that he entered into Script Pimp, a screenwriting contest we've never heard of.
That got him a manager, who circulated it around town, eventually landing it on the Black List. At that point he moved out of his parents house and headed out to L.A. to stake his claim in a beckoning industry.
The first draft of Grayskull was called He-Man, and was written by Justin Marks, who penned Disney's update of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Depending on who you talk to, it was either heralded as a gift from the Eternia gods, handed down to nerd mortals for their years of servitude (i.e. still playing with their He-Man action figures well into their 30s), or beset by problems that rendered it unworthy of the brilliant source material.
THR reports the studio sees it as "a gritty fantasy and reimagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia." That sounds a lot like the plot of 1980's Flash Gordon. Throw in Max von Sydow in drag and we're in. In any case, we wish Daugherty all the best with the material. By the Power of Insane Pressure, Speedy Rises to the Top, and Unrealistically High Expectations: succeed, young Daugherty, succeed!
ยท 'Grayskull' lands new writer [THR]