When Universal Pictures cut its deal with Hasbro to make films based on their toys and games, plans for Stretch Armstrong — a film that would’ve seen Taylor Lautner as the pliable action figure — fell through. Many of us thought it safe to assume we wouldn’t be hearing about Stretch for awhile, maybe never again, but it turns out Relativity Media has the rights and THR reports that Breck Eisner is in talks to direct.
Eisner is best known for directing the 2005 adventure film Sahara and one of 2010’s more popular and praised horror flicks, The Crazies. His work on the latter convinced New Line to hire him for a remake of Escape from New York, but there’s been no word on that project for two years now.
Stretch Armstrong debuted in 1976 and saw a resurgence in the ’90s. Relativity has been mum on its development of the project until now but the film does already has a script from Dean Georgaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, The Manchurian Candidate).
Eisner’s involvement certainly makes Stretch Armstrong a bit more interesting but after Universal’s last Hasbro-related film (Battleship), I remain skeptical.
Check back for more on this project as it develops.