A lot happened in the first five episodes of the animated sequel series.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first five episodes ofMasters of the Universe: Revelation.
Like any toy that breaks, it can be glued back together, sometimes in more interesting ways.
Skeletor (Mark Hamill) and He-Man (Chris Wood) in ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’.NETFLIX
That’s howKevin Smithsees part 1 ofMasters of the Universe: Revelation.
So yeah, a lot has happened.
It wasn’t “reinvent this, blow it apart.”
Mark Hamill’s Skeletor in ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’.Netflix
It was literally “keep the story going.”
There’s got to be reverence as hell.
All these characters still look and sound and feel exactly like the characters from the other show.
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Teela leads the gang in ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’.Netflix
We just mature them.
When we bring in Moss Man and Skeletor kills Moss Man, the whole thing turns on dime.
Suddenly, we enter a world of stakes.
We don’t think of it as we’re changing everything aboutMasters of the Universe.
It was more about let’s just add stakes.
That’s the one thing the old cartoon never really had.
You never thought for a second that Skeletor was ever going to kill He-Man.
This was about, what happens if they crossed swords?
And if somebody could lose a life, something that never would have happened on the old show.
We got a body count on this show in the first part, and part 2 as well.
I’ve never experienced that making something before.
These two cats made it better.
Both of them know more about the lore ofMasters of the Universethan most people will ever know.
So the pitch was simple.
The original title for the series wasThe End of the Universe.
Teddy was like, “That’s a little too spoilery.
Let’s go with a title that’s a little more neutral.”
That’s whereRevelationcame from.
When I pitched to Rob, he was like, “That’s great.
Let’s go.”
It’s just a question of whether or not you’re going to be in charge."
So pitching it was a breeze, man.
We approached He-Man like you would Superman.
You have one of the most powerful beings in the entire world, who can literally do anything.
For storytellers, okay, what do I do with that?
Where’s the conflict?
There’s been conflict for 40 years between Skeletor and He-Man, so you start there.
What happens if one of them finally gets their way?
What happens if they finally died in battle?
What happens if you take Superman out of Metropolis?
Everyone’s identity in Metropolis is predicated on Superman.
Everyone in Eternia’s identity is predicated on He-Man.
Everybody has to grow up and change and take charge of their own lives.
He wrote this comic book years ago calledGrimjack.
At one point, Grimjack gets killed and goes to their version of heaven.
I felt maybe this was grooming Teela to become Master of the Universe.
Do you think that would be something character-wise that she would do?
We’ve got big things in store for Teela, as I’m sure people have seen thus far.
There’s a few moments throughout the show where characters are like, “Yes, Teela!
You have a special bond that…” And then, “No, no, no!
We got things to do.”
And they move on.
We don’t address it.
That’s kind of where we’re headed with the story.
Teela’s always been one of the heroic warriors.
Teela has been in every episode of the show, fighting side-by-side with He-Man.
He didn’t need to protect her.
In fact, she protected him when he was Adam.
She was his bodyguard.
It had to do with Teela and her relationship to the Sorceress.
That was the kernel where we were like, “Let’s see where that would go.”
It enabled us to bring Teela front and center.
It’s her journey that we’re watching.
Something tells me he’ll be back.
If you’re sitting there going, “They killed He-Man!”
He’s like, Kenny [fromSouth Park].
He’ll come back.
Masters of the Universe: RevelationPart 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
