‘Max Steel’ Back in Action at Dolphin Entertainment (Exclusive)

Max Steel is back in action.

The movie project based on the popular Mattel toy was previously set up at Paramount with Taylor Lautner attached to star and Joe Roth producing. 

But  Steel rusted at the studio, and when the rights expired and reverted back to Mattel, the toy company decided to be more hands-on with the property. Mattel has now partnered with Miami-based Dolphin Entertainment, which is funding development.

A live-action movie version of Steel will now be written by Christopher Yost, a big name in the animation world. And it has Stewart Hendler, who helmed Dolphin’s sci-fi digital series H+, attached to direct.

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Steel is a recent toy compared to the other toy lines that are inspiring screen adaptations. It was created in the late 1990s and inspired two animated series, including one airing now on Disney XD, as well as several animated movies.

The storyline focuses on a teen named Max who’s imbued with an energy power called TURBO, which stands for Tachyon Unlimited Radiant Bio-Optimized. He is partnered with Steel, a technological alien who protects him.

Yost made his name in Marvel’s television animated world, having written for Wolverine and the X-Men, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in recent years. He is also a writer on Marvel Studios’ Thor: The Dark World.

Hendler’s  H+  was released by Warner Premiere and produced by Bryan Singer as well as Dolphin. Hendler also directed the horror movie Sorority Row and the digital series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

Yost is repped by Verve and Industry Entertainment while Hendler is repped by UTA and Mosaic.

Dolphin is a player in the teen sphere and was also behind Anthony Zuiker‘s Cybergeddon, the digital series that is now being sold internationally as a two-hour movie.