In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center, a golden armored belt and golden wrist plates. He raises his silver sword atop Battle Cat, a green tiger with orange stripes and maroon armor on his hind legs. The two are in the center of a throne room.
Later this year, Netflix will bring another old-school cartoon property back to live with their 5-part miniseries ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation,’ spearheaded by long-time pop-culture creator Kevin Smith. Serving as the showrunner and executive producer, Smith is joined by behind-the-scenes talent from the original ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ series, including Frederick Soulie as an executive producer and Susan Cordin as a producer. Longtime Smith co-collaborator Marc Bernardin serves as one of the writers, and the series’ music is composed by Bear McCreary.
Speaking about what the original 1980s cartoon series meant to him, Smith had this to say:
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.
Smith speaks of “top-tier voice talent,” and he’s certainly not wrong. The cast boasts such well-known names as Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn, Chris Wood as Prince Adam/He-Man, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms, Stephen Root as Cringer, Diedrich Bader as King Randor/Trap Jaw, Griffin Newman as Orko, Tiffany Smith as Andra, Henry Rollins as Tri-Klops, Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, Justin Long as Roboto, Jason Mewes as Stinkor, Phil LaMarr as He-Ro, Tony Todd as Scare Glow, and more. The series even welcomes back Alan Oppenheimer, who voiced the original Skeletor; he’ll now be voicing Moss Man.
The new series, which premieres on July 23rd, will pick up directly where the old series left off, as Smith explains:
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.
Netflix today released 10 images as a “first look” for the series – check them out in the gallery below, and click on the images to see them in all their full-sized glory! Visit Netflix and their dedicated Masters of the Universe page for more info and updates.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Skeletor (left), who wears a purple cloak and hood over his skull, grips his spear in a battle against He-Man (right), a strong shirtless blonde male with a golden armored belt and wrist plates holding a silver sword. The two are standing face to face in a forest with bright foliage.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center and golden wrist plates. He is holding a silver sword with both hands with his mouth open. The foliage of the forest is visible behind him.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Orko, Andra, Teela, Roboto and Evil-Lyn stand in a line looking off to their left, serious expressions on their faces. Orko floats mid-air, blue arms and ears visible with face shadowed beneath a red hat and purple scarf. Andra, a dark-skinned female, wears a brown and green military style uniform, hair pulled back. Teela, a light-skinned female with short auburn hair, wears a white top with a brown chest plate and harness. Roboto, a gray robot with a red mouth piece, wears a green cloak. Evil-Lyn, a light-skinned female, wears a blue and silver headpiece with a skull in the center and a blue and brown military style uniform, crystal-orb wand in her right hand at her side. A blue sky and icy landscape are visible behind them.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man (right) stands behind Sorceress (left) in a stone room lit only by the light coming from SorceressesÕ hands. Sorceress has her palms outstretched in front of her and wears a white dress, a falcon-like hood over head and orange and blue wings. He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center, a golden armored belt and wrist plates.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Skeletor, who wears a purple cloak and hood over his skull, stands in a forest with bright foliage as he grips his spear as purple electricity sparks around him.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Moss Man leans down and is surrounded by bright foliage of the forest. He is made up of moss, grass, vines and branches in various shades of green.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Prince Adam, a young light-skinned male with light-colored eyes and blonde hair, stands encircled in a multi-colored fog, silver sword raised with his right arm. He wears a white long sleeve tunic, a red vest and a brown belt with a golden belt buckle cinching his waist.
In a CG animated close-up still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Beast Man, a large male figure with pointed ears, maroon fur, a long red beard, pink and blue face paint and horns on his head and back. He looks straight ahead and bares his teeth in a growl.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Teela, a light-skinned female with short auburn hair and light-colored eyes, lunges forward while holding her golden-hilted sword. She wears white and gold armor, a golden head piece with a red jewel in the center and brown boots with white fur trim. A wooden bridge reflects light at its base as it stretches between the trees in the forest visible behind her.
In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center, a golden armored belt and golden wrist plates. He raises his silver sword atop Battle Cat, a green tiger with orange stripes and maroon armor on his hind legs. The two are in the center of a throne room.
‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’ will premiere on Netflix on July 23, 2021.
Tony Schaab is a freelance pop-culture writer in addition to being an award-winning author and best-selling review critic, with his book series “The G.O.R.E. Score: A Review Guide to All Things Zombie” being an 8-time #1 best-seller (Amazon Kindle, Pop Culture chart, 2012-2019). Working as a DJ and Master of Ceremonies since 1999, he has performed MC/DJ work for the NFL, MTV, NBA, Wizard World Comic Con, PGA, IndyCar, and countless private events. Tony lives in Indianapolis with his 14-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son, and rambunctious rescue dog. Learn more about Tony at TonySchaab.com and chat him up on Instagram or Facebook @TonySchaab.
