Earlier this year saw the release of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD, the third installment of the highly successful trilogy that earned over one billion dollars at the box office. But writer/director Dean DeBlois isn’t planning on sitting back and twiddling his thumbs, he’s already lined up another very cool gig. THR broke the news, stating DeBlois has been hired by Paramount Pictures to write and direct a live action film adaptation of THE MICRONAUTS. For those unfamiliar, Micronauts was a Science Fiction toy line manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980, eventually appearing as a Marvel Comics title by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden around the same time as when Transformers and G.I. Joe were dominating kids’ interests in the 1980s – those comics helped provide more of a cohesive story for the characters. In recent years, Hasbro has acquired the license and revived the toys a bit. The story revolves around a Microverse controlled by the sinister Baron Karza, and the Micronauts were a resistance group determined to fight back against Karza. Word has it the studio is hoping DeBlois can capture some of the box office magic the TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE films did. The film is set to be produced by Brian Goldner, Stephen Davis and Greg Mooradian for AllSpark Pictures, a side film production wing for Paramount.
Dean DeBlois started his directing career by co-directing LILO & STITCH in 2002, then co-directing HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON in 2010, and solo directing the two sequels. The report mentioned that Paramount and Hasbro want to have a “family-friendly” tone for their MICRONAUTS movie and see DeBlois as the perfect person to bring the charm to it that he handled so well on the DRAGONS franchise. At the moment, Paramount is hoping for a release date of June 4, 2021. Stay tuned as new develops.
If you live in the Dallas area, you could meet Dean DeBlois during a rare public appearance on November 23-24 at Dallas Comic Show.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
