‘Max Steel’ Releases Its First Official Images

If you're above a certain age, chances are strong that 'Max Steel' won't register for you at all. And if you are below that certain age, chances are equally likely that you forgot this particular action hero existed at all. Originally a toy line created by Mattel and then an animated TV series and then a series of annual direct-to-video movies, 'Max Steel' doesn't have the cultural cache of 'G.I. Joe' and 'Transformers,' but that hasn't stopped them from moving forward with a new movie based on the character. Today, the first official stills from that 'Max Steel' movie have arrived.

The images premiered over at Moviefone and most them feature star Ben Winchell as the titular hero. Although the origins of Max's superpowers in the original cartoon involved a laboratory accident, the Moviefone article mentions an extraterrestrial origin, which was actually a retcon from a later version of the series. This suggests that the movie may be playing fast and loose with the 'Max Steel' canon, as it were. Then again, it's hard to imagine anyone on Earth getting upset with changes to this series. Does anyone harbor any love or nostalgia for this series?

But who knows? Maybe the fact that 'Max Steel' is based on a property that isn't that fondly remembered is good thing. Maybe it will give director Stewart Hendler enough elbow room to make a cool, kid-friendly sci-fi action flick without having to stay too close to a dull mythology.

'Max Steel' opens in theaters in 2015.