The Big Picture
Despite the box office success of Barbie, Mattel has struggled to create successful film adaptations of its other toy properties, including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Multiple attempts to reboot the Masters of the Universe franchise have faced challenges, with different directors and writers coming and going over the years. While the franchise has thrived on television with successful reboots and new directions, a film version would need to take a drastic approach to stand out from previous adaptations and separate itself from the pack.
The box office success of Barbie has led parent company Mattel to pursue a fleet of film adaptations based on its toys. Some of these range from the obvious (both Hot Wheels and Matchbox feel like they could fit the same vibes as the Fast & Furious saga) to the ridiculous (how on Earth can anyone make a film out of Uno?) While arguments could be made that Mattel has taken away all the wrong lessons from Barbie’s success, there’s one property that the toy giant seems to have run into trouble with — He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
A quick recap: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe takes place in the mystical realm of Eternia, where young Prince Adam is charged with defending the secrets of Castle Greyskull from the malevolent Skeletor. In order to do so, he uses a sword of power to transform into the most powerful being in the universe: He-Man. In an era where IP seems to be king, as well as fellow ’80s icons like the Transformers receiving their own film vehicles, a Masters of the Universe film should be easy to get off the ground. In fact, He-Man and his friends received a live-action film adaptation in 1987 with Masters of the Universe – starring Dolph Lundgren as the muscle-bound hero. Attempts to reboot the property haven’t been as successful.
Why Has a ‘Masters of the Universe’ Movie Reboot Been So Hard to Make?
The first attempts to revive Masters of the Universe happened all the way back in 2007. Mega-producer Joel Silver, fresh off the success of 300, sought to utilize the same effects that powered Zack Snyder’s war epic to bring Eternia to life. Silver tapped Justin Marks to pen the script. However, that version eventually fell through. In 2009, Sony would end up snagging the rights to the Masters of the Universe franchise from Warner Bros. and tapped Jon M. Chu to direct – Chu departed the project after several false starts but would ultimately tackle two more ’80s icons in the form of G.I. Joe Retaliation and Jem & The Holograms.
Over the years, more directors and writers would take a crack at writing the film, from Christopher Yost to Jeff Wadlow. For a time, it seemed like a potential version directed by McG would take off. The director even had a guiding star in the form of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; in an interview with IGN, McG said, “We also need to be cognizant of the incredible resonance of what Kevin Feige is doing with Marvel, and the balance of full-bodied entertainment. That it’s both credible and emotional, action-packed, and the story of a hero’s journey. It’s the genesis of He-Man, it’s the becoming of He-Man…We’re not going to stop until we get it right.” But ultimately, McG departed the project, with David Goyer, as well as Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, performing rewrites of the script.
He-Man Returns by the Power of…Netflix?
Sony would eventually sell the long-gestating Masters of the Universe reboot to Netflix, with Adam & Aaron Nee picking up directorial duties. Soon after, David Callaham was tapped to rewrite the script and Kyle Allen picking up the Sword of Power as Prince Adam. On paper, all the ingredients for success were present: The Nee Brothers were coming off the success of the action comedy The Lost City, while Callaham had penned a string of popular films including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings & Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.
But once again, the reboot hit a snag as Netflix opted to cancel the Masters of the Universe film and give the rights back to Mattel. Multiple factors were responsible for this decision: pre-production costs were ballooning and Netflix had hit a snag in terms of growth. Add in the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, and you have a recipe for a blockbuster killer.
He-Man Has Already Had Successful Reboots on TV
Ironically, while the Masters of the Universe franchise has struggled to make it to film, it’s thrived on television. In 2002, a new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series made its debut – keeping many of the same characters while updating certain elements. For example, Prince Adam looks like an actual teenager – which helps separate him from He-Man – and Skeletor is retconned into being his uncle! Netflix would also deliver two He-Man-related projects in the form of Masters of the Universe: Revelation and another He-Man and the Masters of the Universe reboot. Both of them took the franchise in surprising new directions while also staying true to the core of the original series.
Ultimately, the Masters of the Universe franchise seems to thrive on television. Part of that is due to its large cast of characters – both He-Man and Skeletor have plenty of allies to call upon in their seemingly endless struggle – as well as the serial nature of the show. The only way a film version would work is if it finally took the leap and had Skeletor enter Castle Greyskull or something drastic happen to Adam. These elements were previously covered in the Lundgren version of Masters of the Universe as well as Revelation. With Masters of the Universe: Revolution set to continue Revelation’s expansion of the He-Man mythos, any future Masters of the Universe film will have to work hard to separate itself from the pack. In the meantime, it seems like a Masters of the Universe film – much like Skeletor – is destined to fall forever short of glory.
Masters of the Universe (1987) is available to stream on Tubi, Prime Video, and Pluto TV. Masters of The Universe: Revelation is available to stream on Netflix.
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