It's been some time since He-Man ruled the world, but the once-mighty TV and toy phenomenon is
finally ready for a reboot. Whether you're a longtime fan or a newcomer, here are all the
reasons why Netflix's Masters of the Universe will blow your mind from here to Eternia.
It took what felt like forever, but we now have a definitive answer:
"Masters of the Universe: Revelation" will debut on Netflix on Friday, July 23, 2021.
When filmmaker Kevin Smith, the geek icon producer of the "Revelation" miniseries,
first announced the show at Anaheim's Power-Con 2019,
it was difficult to tell just how far along the series was in the production pipeline.
But the team behind the show obviously went right to work if they managed to
wrap up production in the year and half since then while in the midst of a global pandemic.
We should note that July 23 is only the first part of the season,
with five episodes going up for streaming on that date. Hopefully, we'll get some indication
about the second batch of "Revelation" episodes soon after the initial premiere.
Smith took to Twitter in November 2019 to share that the voice cast was about to
begin recording their parts, so that means the second half shouldn't be too far away.
If this is the case, Netflix will need to figure out where it can fit the second
half of "Revelation" into its release schedule; of course, we'll be keeping
an eye out for an official announcement, which we expect to arrive sooner rather than later.
Netflix doesn't shy away from positive PR when they know viewers are flocking to a new show, as
shown when "Bridgerton" obliterated all previous records for viewership on the streaming service.
If "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" turns out to be the hit that Netflix hopes it will be,
they won't waste any time moving up the release of the remaining episodes for the series.
"Masters of the Universe: Revelation" is already proving to be far glitzier than
the '80s series we all know and love with its illustrious cast of triple-A talent.
He-Man will have his shouts and war cries powered by Chris Wood of "Supergirl"
and "The Vampire Diaries" fame. The biggest get of this series, however,
is without a doubt Mark Hamill; in a truly inspired casting choice,
he will be lending his incredible voice talents to iconic villain Skeletor.
Hamill may still be most well known for playing Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" franchise,
but he's almost as famous for his stellar body of voice acting work — he has consistently performed
an animated version of the Joker since the '90s. More recently, he has been putting his evil shriek
to work as SkekTek the Scientist in the other big '80s nostalgia revival series on Netflix,
"The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance," so becoming Skeletor is a perfect fit for
his style. What can we say? He's very good at those unhinged evil cackles.
"Here is the answer we seek.... Life everlasting!"
The celebrity train doesn't stop there, as we continue down the long list of Eternia's friends
and enemies. The cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela; Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms;
Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn; Diedrich Bader as King Randor & Trap Jaw;
Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, and many more. There's even a role for Kevin Conroy,
the Batman to Hamill's Joker in "Batman: The Animated Series," as Mer-Man.
"Hello? Hello operator? I believe my party's been disconnected."
Netflix's sparse webpage for the upcoming "Masters of the Universe:
Revelation" series has a brief one-sentence blurb as a summary of the show. That reads:
"After a calamitous battle fractures Eternia, Teela and an unlikely alliance
must prevent the end of the Universe in this sequel to the '80s classic."
Exciting, eh? Netflix's teaser doesn't provide much more context than that,
but by the power of Grayskull, it does feel like a direct continuation of the 80s series,
complete with 95 seconds of action set to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero."
"At the beginning of our first episode, it plays for the first ten minutes
like a slightly, or way-better animated version of the old show."
There is an interesting nugget buried in the producing credits:
the VP of Mattel TV, Rob David. At first blush, that's no big deal, because it's very common for
executives of intellectual properties to receive executive producing credit.
The twist here is that Rob David also came up with the story for a 15-issue "He-Man" comic
series titled "The Eternity War" that was published by DC from 2014 to 2016.
The comics' story isn't centered only on Skeletor and He-Man. Instead,
it's about a no-holds-barred war for the soul of Eternia, with big battles, noble sacrifices,
and bloody carnage. While this new Netflix miniseries is likely not a direct adaptation,
elements from the comics could be incorporated.
What the plot of "Revelation" will probably not include, considering their absence
from the cast list, is He-Man's sister She-Ra and her many ancillary characters.
Netflix's "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" animated series has no announced
connection to Revelation, and the two shows likely won't connect at all,
because "She-Ra" has been running just fine on its own steam for four seasons.
It appears that we'll just have to wait to see exactly what kind of story Smith and company
are cooking up for us. Fortunately, the wait is nearly over, and with all of the love that Smith,
David, and the rest of the crew are pouring into this adaptation, we're not worried in the least.
If you had any worries about the professional credentials of the crew behind the scenes,
the composer for "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" should ease your fears.
The animated Netflix show's composer is none other than the award-winning Bear McCreary.
Longtime fans of "The Walking Dead" were introduced to his music from the first moment
of the opening credits, and he remains one of the longest-tenured people attached to the AMC show.
His career has spanned multiple genres and mediums. McCreary got his start in
television on the 2004 version of "Battlestar Galactica," where he scored almost all of the
76 episodes of the sci-fi hit that spawned a new generation of fans.
From there, he continued his work on television by composing
music for several seasons of "Eureka" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
McCreary's film work is rooted in horror, where he created the music
for films like "Rest Stop" and "Wrong Turn 2: Dead End." As his star rose,
he scored bigger and more widely known movies, including "10 Cloverfield Lane," "Godzilla:
King of the Monsters," and the 2019 reboot of "Child's Play."
One of his biggest professional accomplishments in recent years,
however, has come in the form of video games: specifically,
2018's "God of War." The PlayStation 4 exclusive was a mega hit for Sony,
selling more than 10 million copies in a little over a year after its release. For his work on the
Norse mythology-inspired action epic, McCreary won a BAFTA and four Game Audio Network Guild awards.
Kevin Smith revealed McCreary as the composer in February 2021,
and the @NetflixGeeked Twitter account posted a video of Smith's reaction to hearing the "metal
maestro's" work for the first time. Smith is left visibly teary-eyed by the end of the clip,
which should tell fans of "Revelation" that the music is in the most capable of hands.
For those of you who just can't wait until July 23, Dark Horse Comics is getting a
top-tier team of writers and artists to hold you over before "Masters of the Universe:
Revelation" premieres. Four issues of a prequel comic, also titled "Masters of the Universe:
Revelation," are scheduled for release, with #1 now available for pre-order everywhere
comics are sold. Kevin Smith and Rob David, two of the names behind the Netflix show,
are also in charge of writing the comic series, along with Tim Sheridan, known for
his work on the "Superman: Man of Tomorrow" and "Reign of the Supermen" animated movies.
The comic has some heavyweights in the visual department, as well, with drawings by Mindy Lee,
known for the comics "Bounty" and "Crimson Lotus", color from Rico Renzi, who you may know from the
comics "Spider-Gwen" and "Sundowners", and letters by Deron Bennett, known for his work on "Batgirl."
Stjepan Sejic, a veteran of "He-Man: The Eternity War," drew the cover of the first issue,
and Dave Wilkins will provide covers for the remaining three issues.
Each issue will have at least one variant cover, drawn by many other talented artists.
The release of a comic book for "Masters of the Universe:
Revelation" is a nice callback to the original '80s cartoon, which also contained comic books
that were included with the release of each new action figure. This prequel is said to explore
the aftermath of an attack on King Randor, He-Man's father. The creature sent in the
attack is somehow linked to He-Man's sword, and he sets off after Skeletor and Evil-Lyn.
"Masters of the Universe: Revelation" #1 will hit comic shelves and digital storefronts on July 7,
2021. The other three issues will release on August 11, September 8, and October 13, which
should help hold us over until the second half of the "Revelation" series premieres on Netflix.
As we mentioned earlier, "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" isn't the only revival
of this series in the works for Netflix. Mattel and Netflix are also collaborating on a totally
separate production, simply titled "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe." Unlike
the anime-inspired "Revelation," this show will reportedly be a more traditional take
on the "Masters of the Universe" mythos, with the target audience reportedly skewing much younger.
At the moment, details on this new "He-Man" show are very scarce.
We know that the storylines will be new, and that Skeletor is the center of the conflict.
The onslaught of "He-Man" lore hasn't stopped there. An additional "He-Man and the Masters
of the Universe" animated film is also in the works, as well as a live-action movie.
No matter what, it'll probably be better than the last time they tried that.
"I'll be back!"
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