The Warner animation group is developing the animated feature The Metal Men, according to
The Hollywood Reporter.
The animated feature will be headed up by the Disney team of Ron Clements and John Musker, who created such movies as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog. The animated team will be jumping ship to DC and will team up with writer Celeste Ballard for the project. Ballard worked on Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Clements and Musker are producing and have written the treatment for the film, which they are eyeing to direct. Craig Peck is executive producing. Allison Abbate, the former producer (The Iron Giant, The Corpse Bride) and now head of WAG, is shepherding the project for the studio.
The Metal Men is based on DC Comics heroes created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru in 1962, the concept revolves around a brilliant scientist, William Magnus, and his creations: six highly advanced robots who have powers and personalities associated with their respective metals — gold, iron, lead, tin, mercury, and platinum. The group had its title in the 1960s and then made frequent appearances throughout the DC Universe in the ensuing decades. The stories have vacillated in tone from comedic to somber, with the group at times being on the run from government agents or even being robot assassins. The group sometimes incorporated a whole periodic table’s worth of metal elements as new characters.
