“He-Man, victory!” Masters of the Universe opens in theaters this week and it’s been terrific seeing the amount of promotion Amazon is putting behind it. Travis Knight’s live action adaption looks steeped in the Eternia universe with characters from the cartoon and action galore. The effort has paid off in my world at least with frequent sights on social media, oversized ads in Los Angeles and the Hollywood premiere that turned the historic Chinese Theatre into the iconic Castle Grayskull! Mattel is already viewing the film a success with the reentry of He-Man into culture and new products on shelves. If 2023’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem could kick up $1 billion worth of merchandising sales alone I have no doubt He-Man and friends can slash their way into the same Stratos-phere.
MOTUNIVERSE launched a new He-Man and She-Ra centric convention reminiscent of the Power-Con days. The show seemed like a smashing success with enthusiastic crowds in themed shirts and costumes, loads of vendors, special guests from the Filmation cartoons and beyond along with a few packed panels. Amazon gave the fan fest a boost by providing life size maquettes of He-Man, Skeletor and a “bone throne” for photos along with popcorn bucket prizes.
It’s wild to see maligned upon release turned cult classic, Masters of the Universe ‘87, be embraced nearly 40 years later. It was always a favorite of mine and still holds up with its sorcery meets sci-fi, 80’s spectacle. It doesn’t hurt that original cinematic He-Man Dolph Lundgren is still in the public eye, more on that later. Production Designer William Stout shared art and designs (Snake Mountain, She-Ra, vehicles), many rejected for budgetary reasons. The Castle Grayskull throne room utilized two sound stages and was the biggest set Hollywood had seen in years. Actor, Martial artist and stuntman extraordinaire Anthony DeLongis talked about training Dolph in swordplay, choreographing fights and having to wear a whole lot of heavy metal chainmail as bad guy Blade.
Soak it up 80’s kids, I don’t think we’ll see this kind of He-Man fan swell for a long time. Good journey and see you at the cinema!