It's a busy day for Mattel - the company has sold the rights to star doll Barbie to Universal and has seen Sony snap up Masters Of The Universe.

Yes, Universal, clearly not satisfied trying to buy up every board game ever produced to turn into films, has set its sights of the world's most recognisable piece of plastic this side of Pamela Anderson's chest.

"Barbie is the most famous doll in history, a unique cultural icon in the world of brands," gushed Universal Pictures chairman Marc Shmuger to Variety. "So many representations of Barbie frequent pop culture. We're grateful to Mattel for entrusting us with this extraordinary opportunity."

Producer Laurence Mark has been tasked with listening to writers pitch about what they'd do to turn the doll into a live-action film, which will be a first, despite years of successful straight-to-video 'toon adventures.

We just hope they're ready for the acting to be labelled plastic…

In other toy news, Sony has nabbed the rights to Masters Of The Universe, after Warners and Joel Silver couldn't agree on the direction of the film and let the rights slip.

Now the new studio will start from scratch, trying to find a way to make heroic Prince Eternia and evil villain skeletor work on screen. And it's not known if Warners' chosen director, John Stevenson will stay on board.

Good luck to them - considering the years of wrangling Warners went through, they'll need it…

[Source: Variety]

Do you think Masters Of The Universe will ever get back on screen? Can it work?