First Look at Kevin Smith's Upcoming MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION Series
Netflix has shared a collection of images from Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation, giving us our first look at the animated series. While it looks different than I expected, I like what I’m seeing. When previously talking about the designs of the characters, Smith said:
“It's in the style of an anime...what Netflix calls an anime original...but looks exactly like our classic characters. Nobody's been redesigned to where you're 'Oh that's the 2020 version.' They all look like they're supposed to. And the story functions as essentially the next episode when [the 1980s original animated series] stopped.”
Now we can see exactly what Smith was talking about there. You can check out all of those images below and when you do, let us know what you think! Kevin Smith also talks about growing up with Masters of the Universe saying:
“I watched all of the TV series growing up, it was everywhere in the ‘80s. These characters started off as toys and ended up becoming part of the global pop culture fabric. So much of this show has been possible because of the love and affection for this world at every level of production and the fandom surrounding this franchise. A big reason we got such top tier voice talent is because people genuinely want to be a part of this world. So many of us were touched by these stories and these characters early in our lives and were so happy to come back to Eternia. But even if you’ve never watched a single episode of the show or don’t know this universe at all, you can jump right into the story. It’s a really classic, universal action-adventure epic about growth, discovery, magic, and power. This series explores destiny in a fresh way. There’s a lot of reconciling with secrets, betrayal, trust, acceptance, love, and ultimately, loss.”
When talking about what we can expect from the new series, Smith said:
“Narratively our show is set up as the next episode in the legacy ‘80s animated series that aired from 1983-1985. This is a continuation of that story. We're playing with the original mythology and characters, and revisiting and digging deeper into some of the unresolved storylines. Visually we also made the conscious decision to lean into the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE line of toys for inspiration as well. Mattel owns this entire vast library of that artwork, so right away we wanted the show to open with classic pieces of that artwork. Mattel has been committed to this look since they first started as a toy line in the '80s, and now we’re leaning into it and honoring it.”
The series picks up where the classic original characters left off decades ago. “After a cataclysmic battle between He-Man and Skeletor, Eternia is fractured and the Guardians of Grayskull are scattered. And after decades of secrets tore them apart, it’s up to Teela to reunite the broken band of heroes, and solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power in a race against time to restore Eternia and prevent the end of the universe.”
This series has a great voice cast that includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mark Hamill, and Chris Wood headlining the series. Gellar will voice Teela, with Hamill perfectly playing Skeletor, and Wood will be He-Man/Prince Adam. Lena Headey will voice Evil-Lyn, with Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms, Griffin Newman as Orko, Stephen Root as Cringer, Diedrich Bader as King Randor, Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, and Susan Eisenberg as Sorceress.
The series is being produced by Mattel Television with Rob David, VP of Mattel TV and author of He-Man: the Eternity War, and the show is being developed by writers Eric Carrasco (Supergirl), Tim Sheridan (Reign of the Supermen), Diya Mishra (Magic: The Gathering), and Marc Bernardin (Alphas).
Masters of the Universe: Revelation will likely premiere on Netflix later this year.
