An Action Man film is in development at Working Title in partnership with Hasbro, which owns the rights to the British toy brand. The project marks a big-screen outing for the character, first launched in the UK in 1966 by Palitoy as a local counterpart to Hasbro's G.I. Joe, and comes as studios continue mining nostalgic toy properties for film franchises.

The script is being written by Simon Hatt, a UK filmmaker known for his Marvel work including as an executive producer on "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", alongside "X-Men '97" co-writer Anthony Sellitti. Jeremy Latchem, a former Marvel executive whose credits include "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron", is producing. Action Man was reintroduced in 1993 and had reproduction figures released in 2006 for its 40th anniversary, while its sibling brand G.I. Joe has already spawned three live-action films of varying box-office success, with a planned fourth instalment currently stalled.