Masters of the Universe: Kevin Smith Reveals the Reason He Tackled Netflix’s Revival

Masters of the Universe may started out as a simple cartoon pitch years ago, but the whole franchise has expanded well beyond its original size. For fans nowadays, He-Man and his allies represent a special sort of nostalgia that many yearn to find again. That is why Netflix courted director Kevin Smith to bring a Masters of the Universe revival to life, and now, he is talking about the target audience everyone had in mind for the project.

Smith dishes all of this information during a recent chat with Variety, and it comes after the debut of Masters of the Universe: Revelation. The show went last week to the delight of fans, but its episode one cliffhanger did leave most stunned. After all, it isn’t everyday you see the franchise kill off He-Man and Skeletor, but Smith stresses this choice was made to better serve the franchise’s old-school fanbase.

As Variety puts it, Smith and the team at Netflix wanted “to please fans of the show by getting to do the things the original never could.” This means Masters of the Universe: Revelation could explore mature characters with complex motives, and their actions would all have real consequences. Of course, the magic of Eternia will help bring back out leads at some point, but He-Man’s apparent death could have never been done in the ’80s cartoon. But under Smith’s careful vision, well – anything is possible.

As Ted Biaselli, the director of original series at Netflix, put it, this show needed to given a grown-up take on Eternia that adult fans could fret and fawn over. Smith admitted this bold pitch piqued his curiosity, and given his love of all things fandom, the director said he understood what was at stake with hardcore fans.

“I know what a fan base reacts like when they don’t get the thing they grew up watching. You think I’m gonna be the fall guy for that? If I’m involved in a thing, it’s going to be true to what it is. It’s gonna be true to the franchise,” Smith stressed.

While the cliffhanger did throw off fans to start, Masters of the Universe: Revelation has received wide praise for its weighty plot. Now, netizens are eager to see what comes next for the series as the second half of season one is still in production. But if a recent update is right, Netflix is streamlining the new episodes as best as possible.

Have you checked out Masters of the Universe yet? Will you be watching this Netflix revival? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.