Jon M. Chu is no longer attached to direct Universal's Masters of the Universe adaptation, although the project has gained a new screenwriter with Terry Rossio (The Lone Ranger) signing on.

No reason was given for the director's departure, but he had been attached to the languishing project since July 2012. The filmmaker signed on to direct G.I. Joe 3 back in June, and we also reported in August that the filmmaker was being sought to direct another Paramount sequel, Star Trek 3.

Prior to Terry Rossio's involvement, the Masters of the Universe script was worked on by Richard Wenk (The Expendables 2) and the writing team of Alex Litvak and Michael Finch (Predators).

Little is known about the story, which was previously called Greyskull, except that it will be set on He-Man's home planet of Eternia, which He-Man defends from Skeletor. The original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series from the 1980s was set on Eternia, but the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe, which starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the evil Skeletor, was set on Earth. Of course, now that a new writer is on board, this all may change.

Terry Rossio is best known for co-writing the Pirates of The Caribbean movies, including the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. His other credits include National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Deja Vu and Shrek.