DeVon Franklin, the Senior Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures and one of the producers on Masters of the Universe, posted an image earlier this week that depicts a massive feline decked out in brawny armor. Franklin didn’t offer any description of the photo, but fans have speculated that the image is (of course) concept art for Battle Cat, the trusty steed of the ultimate Master of the Universe, He-Man himself.
@danmillerNY @TheOneHansen @Guardians I totally agree!!! pic.twitter.com/6g6W18D9J7
— DeVon Franklin (@DeVonFranklin) March 3, 2015
While there’s no certainty that the photo is Battle Cat — or even from Masters of the Universe, for that matter — the release of the image by a leading producer in response to a tweeted question about the film seems to offer some concrete validity to the rampant speculation. Plus, there aren’t a whole lot of other massive jungle cats decked out in armor roaming around in fantasy lore.
If the photo is indeed an image of Battle Cat, it wouldn’t be the first visual cue from Masters of the Universe that Franklin has posted in recent weeks. Last month, he posted an image of the movie’s redesigned logo.
@ThomasCastle75 @BigTyDIESEL @newhemanmovie @DCnew52He_man @danmillerNY @SonyPictures we'll know more next week pic.twitter.com/6bAvcTfJQo
— DeVon Franklin (@DeVonFranklin) February 14, 2015
Based on the popular “Masters of the Universe” toy line and subsequent animated series, the Masters of the Universe movie most recently received a rewrite from Kick-Ass 2 writer/director Jeff Wadlow, who has been rumored as a potential director for the project. Previously, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu was attached to direct the film, only to leave the project in 2013.
The film isn’t expected to have any connection to the 1987 live-action movie Masters of the Universe that starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man, though Lundgren has mentioned the possibility of a cameo.
There’s currently no release date set for Masters of the Universe, and Franklin has indicated that the project is in a holding pattern of sorts while Sony’s new chairman Tom Rothman gets acquainted with the studio’s slate of projects in development.
