Columbia’s new Masters of the Universe project is getting a bit of a makeover.  While G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu signed on to direct the live-action redo over a year ago, Heat Vision reports that he is no longer attached to the project.  This isn’t an altogether surprising move, given that Chu is currently hard at work prepping G.I. Joe 3 for a likely 2014 production start-date, meaning he won’t be able to tackle another project until 2015 at the earliest.  While Chu is gone, Sony is still moving forward with Masters of the Universe; Terry Rossio, the co-writer of the Pirates of the Caribbean films and this year’s The Lone Ranger, has been brought on to pen the screenplay.  Hit the jump for more.

Alex Litvak (Predators) and Mike Finch penned the previous draft of the script for Masters of the Universe at Columbia, but it sounds like the studio is looking to take the project in a different direction.  The departure of Chu and the hiring of a new writer could signal a pretty significant shift in direction for the film, which the studio hopes will launch a new franchise.

The project is based on the Mattel toyline of the same name, which centers on a warrior named He-Man who fights against the evil Skeletor.  It was previously turned into a 1980s animated TV series and a 1987 live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren.  Per Heat Vision, Columbia’s take on the material avoids bringing the action to Earth, and instead takes place entirely on Eternia.  With a new writer onboard, we should hear more firm news about the film after the New Year.