"I have the power!"
First look at He-Man in new ‘Masters of the Universe’ animated series coming to Netflix
By the power of Grayskull!
Netflix and Mattel Television have released the first look at Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and the series is looking pretty faithful to the beloved cartoon of the 1980s.
Images shared by Netfix on Friday (May 14) revealed main characters, including He-Man, Skeletor, Teela and Orko, resembling their counterparts from the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, one of the most popular animated shows of that decade.
The streamer also set a release date for the new series, announcing a global premiere date of July 23, 2021.
The series, which was first announced in 2019, comes from executive producer Kevin Smith, widely known as the silent character Silent Bob of the stoner duo “Jay and Silent Bob” and writer-director of pop culture '90s classics Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy.
Based on the images, Smith and the team at Powerhouse Animation, the same animation studio behind Netflix’s Castlevania series, are paying tribute to the look of the original series, and will reportedly be sticking to storylines established in the canon, to the joy of old-school fans everywhere.
The Power Returns! Sneak peek of @Mattel Masters of the Universe: Part 1. Premiering July 23 only on @Netflix. pic.twitter.com/oOQZpwwCxI
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) May 13, 2021
3/3 pic.twitter.com/GMVhwR6tFh
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) May 13, 2021
While there's another modern CG take on He-Man in the works for kids, the images from the upcpomning animated series look like they were designed for adult fans of the franchise. Mattel’s original Masters of the Universe toy line is serving as inspiration for the look of the new series.
“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,” Smith said in a statement.
“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.”
Revelation picks up where the original series left off in 1985. The first episode revolves around a life-changing battle between Prince Adam/He-Man voiced by Chris Wood (The Vampire Diaries) and his lifelong nemesis Skeletor voiced by Mark Hamill (Star Wars), after which the planet of Eternia is left broken and He-Man’s compatriots fractured and estranged.
He-Man’s companion Teela (Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar) is tasked with reuniting her old friends in order to save Eternia and the universe.
The voice cast is jfilled to the brim with A-list talent, including Game of Thrones alums Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn and Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms. The show also features Stephen Root as Cringer, Griffin Newman as Orko, Diedrich Bader as King Randor and Trap Jaw, Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, and Justin Long as Roboto.
Alan Oppenheimer, who played the iconic villain Skeletor in the original series, is returning as the voice of Moss Man.
Part one of Masters of the Universe: Revelation consisting of five episodes, is written by Smith, Marc Bernardin, Eric Carrasco, Diya Mishra and Tim Sheridan; Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead) is the composer; and Frederic Soulie, Adam Bonnett, Christopher Keenan and Rob David are executive producers.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation will premiere worldwide on Netflix on July 23, 2021.
(Images via Netflix)