Action Man Gets Movie Treatment With Working Title and Hasbro
Working Title and Hasbro are developing an Action Man film, with Marvel talent including Simon Hatt and Jeremy Latchem attached to the project.
The British action figure Action Man is heading to the screen. Working Title, the U.K. production studio behind films including the recent Spider-Man franchise entries, is developing the project in partnership with Hasbro, which holds the licence to the toy brand.
The film marks another chapter in Hasbro's push to adapt its toy properties for cinema. According to Variety, the script is being written by LA-based U.K. filmmaker Simon Hatt, an executive producer on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Anthony Sellitti, who co-wrote X-Men '97. Jeremy Latchem, a former Marvel executive with credits on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Age of Ultron, is attached to produce.
A British Legacy Born From American Roots
Action Man launched in the U.K. in 1966 through Palitoy, drawing its initial design from Hasbro's 1964 G.I. Joe figure. Later iterations gave the character a distinctly British identity, with uniforms and accessories modelled on British armed forces gear. The toy was reintroduced in 1993 as a G.I. Joe Hall of Fame figure, and Hasbro licensed reproductions of vintage Action Man models in 2006 to mark the franchise's 40th anniversary.
The character's cultural footprint remains largely confined to the U.K., where it gained an animated cartoon series that aired only on video due to broadcasting rules around advertising to children. That limited exposure contrasts sharply with G.I. Joe's proven box office appeal: the American toyline has spawned three live-action films, beginning with 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, which earned $302 million globally. G.I. Joe: Retaliation followed in 2013 with $375.7 million worldwide, whilst 2021's Snake Eyes underperformed, grossing $40 million against a reported budget of between $88–110 million. A fourth G.I. Joe film, Ever Vigilant, entered development but has since stalled.
Expanding the Hasbro Universe
The Action Man project sits within Hasbro's broader strategy to adapt legacy toy properties for film and television. With superhero fatigue setting in across Hollywood and audience appetite for nostalgia-driven IP resharpened, the studio is betting on characters with established fanbases, however niche. Working Title's involvement signals ambitions to bring theatrical polish to what might otherwise be dismissed as a niche property, leveraging the studio's track record with established franchises.
No director, cast or release timeline has been announced. The project is in early development.
