'Masters of the Universe: Revelation': Will Kevin Smith's Netflix series take He-Man back to his true roots?
The world of Mattel's 'Masters of the Universe' franchise is coming back in a big way with a planned feature film starring Noah Centineo as Prince Adam/He-Man in the works and a sequel to the hit animated series 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' being developed for Netflix. That later property, 'Masters of the Universe: Revelation', already promises to be the most metal take on Eternia ever and now Kevin Smith, who is developing the sequel series, has dropped some information on what to expect from the animated show.
Starting in 1981, the 'Masters of the Universe' franchise has spawned a number of toy lines, comic books, movies and shows. 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' was easily the most popular among these projects but there's a lot more to the franchise than what was covered in the show.
"That was part of the thrill of being able to do this job," Smith told Comic Book. "Being handed a world full of IP like Mattel's Masters of the Universe line and then being able to go hog wild, and telling a grown up story. I don't mean a grown up story like this ain't for kids..."
In 'He-Man and the Power Sword', the first comic based on the toy line and the very first adaptation of the character, the titular hero was a barbarian warrior fighting a seemingly eternal war against the alien sorcerer Skeletor. This early version of the character didn't even have the Prince Adam alter ego and it was a much more serious take on the character.
Over the years, the franchise evolved into the one we know today but it looks like Smith will be taking He-Man back to his roots in the new Netflix series. During the interview, he revealed that Ted Sarandos at Netflix urged the 'Revelation' team to create a serious show along the lines of 'Game of Thrones'.
"He gave us license to create a Game of Thrones version of Masters of the Universe minus the nudity and dragons," Smith explained, adding that 'Game of Thrones' helped make sword-and-sorcery fantasy more popular even among households that previously looked down on the genre.
"That was set in a world of swords and sorcery which, prior to Game of Thrones, people outside the genre would be dismissive of," he said. "Then it became one of the biggest shows on TV where people who never picked up a fantasy book or went to a Comic-Con in their lives would sit down and watch this magic dragon show."
'Masters of the Universe: Revelation' doesn't have a release date yet but it is expected to arrive by 2021.