Well, if you were hoping for a dark Game of Throne-esque Masters of the Universe live-action movie, you’re out of luck. Directors Aaron and Adam Nee have vowed that their Netflix flick will be more akin to Thor: Ragnarok, maintaining the energy and fun of the original Mattel toys and Filmation cartoon while still in service of the adult audience that this will surely attract. (After all, most kids these days don’t even know who He-Man is.)
They Have The Power
While the twins were promoting their theatrical new release, The Lost City, which stars Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe, they were asked about Masters of the Universe: and they stated:
AARON: And that’s what we are trying to hold onto is, what was that sparking inside of us, as kids? And so, we want that, at its core, that very basic human connection that we were feeling while not going, “Well, we’re grownups now. So we can’t really have a character named Ram-Man, we can’t really have Fisto.” Instead it’s like, “No, we’re going to have that.” How do you pull in like all of the kind of just wildness and craziness, but do it with love and affection?
It’s a wild, crazy property, and we wanted to keep it wild and crazy. Like, you had just wacky characters, but what we also wanted to keep is what it was to experience those toys and those cartoons as kids. Whereas kids, we took it completely seriously and trying to tap into, what was it that it was making us feel then? That empowerment that made us feel, and that sort of wide-eyed wonder of the incredible things that can happen, and the incredible worlds that you can encounter. And so we want that wildness, but also the sort of reverence and love of it, that we saw it with through the filter of our child eyes….
ADAM: But I think there’s also the side of it, it’s like being able to poke fun at the property as well. Like what [Taika Waititi] did in [“Thor: Ragnarok”]. I feel like you can love Thor, but also make fun of Thor at the same time and feel a joy in that. I think that we’re somewhere in the middle there, where there is reverence for it, but also you have to be able to make, you can’t take yourself too seriously.
AARON: Or I would say maybe not even so much poke fun, but have fun.
ADAM: Have fun with it.
The Road To Eternia
The Masters of the Universe live-action movie has been in development for… seriously, DECADES! The Nee brothers were attached in 2018 after a slew of directors came and went. This was originally meant to be a theatrical release, but Netflix has been releasing a steady stream of Masters content over the past few years and snapped this picture up as well.
Also in 2018, Netflix unleashed She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, starring He-Man’s twin sister. There was no mention of He-Man or his allies or enemies since the rights for these two properties are no longer connected. That series ran for five seasons. Then, last year, the streamer released Masters of the Universe: Revelation an adult-skewing sequel of sorts to the Filmation show. Kevin Smith served as a producer. On top of that, last year, Netflix launched a new CGI update of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe geared toward children. All three shows spawned toy lines, hopefully snaring a new generation of fans that might also be into the upcoming live-action picture.
Masters of the Universe was previously adapted into live-action in the Canon films release in 1987, with Dolph Lundgren portraying He-Man and Courtney Cox in a supporting role. That version deviated wildly from the cartoon. Despite that, this film is still something of a cult classic.
The only actor cast so far is Kyle Allen, who will portray He-Man. Most recently, he appeared in American Horror Story: Apocalypse and West Side Story. He has a role in the upcoming war picture The Greatest Beer Run of Ever and Space Oddity.
Are you getting excited for the new live-action Masters of the Universe movie?
