Last year, the improbably-proportioned doll Barbie and her parent company Mattel suffered an embarrassing PR gaff with a storybook about a computer engineer Barbie who needed the men in her office to do her coding for her. With the resultant universal opprobrium (and Feminist Hacker Barbie parodies) clearly very fresh in their minds, Mattel and Sony have been careful to position the developing Barbie movie as being all about female empowerment. Sex And The City's Jenny Bicks took the first crack at the screenplay, and it's just been revealed that the writer of the next draft will be Diablo Cody.
Cody, of course, famously smashed through the glass ceiling, from stripping to Hollywood A-list status via scripts like Juno, Jennifer's Body and Young Adult. She made her directorial debut in 2013 with Paradise (although that one has yet to see release in the UK).
"Diablo’s unconventionality is just what Barbie needs,” says producer Walter Parkes. “It signals we’re going for a legitimately contemporary tone. We’re bringing her on because she had great ideas, but even more importantly, she truly loves Barbie."
The story, as hinted at so far, sees a Barbie far more interested in girl power than fashion accessories, arriving Mary Poppins-like in the lives of sadsack losers and "using her personal and professional skills to improve them". Quite how edgy Cody will be allowed to be with the project remains to be seen, but it's clear that nobody is talking about a spin-off for the ditz from the Toy Story movies.
While we're talking Mattel and Sony, there's also been an intriguing tweet from Sony/Columbia's Senior VP DeVon Franklin that *possibly *shows some concept art for the also-developing Masters Of The Universe reboot. Responding to a fan who mused that a He-Man film done properly could tap a success similar to Guardians Of The Galaxy, Franklin said "I totally agree!" and posted a picture that looks plausible as a Nolan-ified Battle Cat.
[@danmillerNY](https://twitter.com/danmillerNY) [@TheOneHansen](https://twitter.com/TheOneHansen) [@Guardians](https://twitter.com/Guardians) I totally agree!!! [pic.twitter.com/6g6W18D9J7](http://t.co/6g6W18D9J7) > > — DeVon Franklin (@DeVonFranklin) [March 3, 2015](https://twitter.com/DeVonFranklin/status/572893563568058368)
He declined to clarify what the picture actually represented, however, so it's in no way confirmed as in any way official. Take it as you will. But even if it turns out to be a DeviantArt fan pic of a Khajiit from Skyrim, it's perhaps at least an indication of the tone the new Masters Of The Universe might attempt.
Thoughts? Comments?