The Masters of the Universe: Revelation anime series featuring Mark Hamill voicing the character of Skeletor is scheduled to air in two-parts, with the first premiering on Netflix on July 23rd.
After Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ended its five-season run, Prince Adam and the world of Eternia are coming back full force to the limelight with a planned live-action movie, in addition to a CG-animated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show aimed for kids. But Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a separate animated series from the mind of Kevin Smith, is designed for fans of the ’80s cartoon.
EW’s exclusive first look at Revelation brings back Prince Adam/He-Man (now voiced by Supergirl‘s Chris Wood) and the gang with a new design by Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania) and an updated story set directly after the events of that original piece of childhood entertainment.
“Everything I’ve ever worked on in like 27 years, this is easily in the top five of my favorite, most satisfying projects,” says Smith, a He-Man superfan who showruns Revelation and executive produces with Mattel Television’s Frederic Soulie, Adam Bonnett, Christopher Keenan, and Rob David. “When I die, they’ll be like, ‘He made Clerks, remember?’ ‘Cause that’s the most memorable thing I think I’ve ever done. I think this has a running shot at being like, ‘He made Clerks and that one cartoon that one time.'”
Split into two parts with the five episodes of Part 1 premiering on Netflix this July 23, the show features an all-star voice cast ensemble. That includes Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Game of Thrones‘ Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, Clueless star Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, iconic Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy as Mer-Man, and the original voice of Skeletor, Alan Oppenheimer, now in the role of Moss Man.
Since this is a sequel series, the main mythos remains intact. Prince Adam, the son of the ruling family of the realm of Eternia, uses the Sword of Power to transform into the chiseled He-Man (you know, “I have the powah!”) to defend his kingdom from threats — mostly from Skeletor and his forces. But now, as Smith says, “the shackles are off” to build a richer lore and explore different aspects to these beloved characters.
“We get to see them engage not just in clashing swords, but in far deeper conversations than we’ve ever seen them before,” he explains. “It’s not just simply like these two dudes [He-Man and Skeletor] have been trying to beat each other up for decades. We get to tell stories of abuse. We get to kind of tell stories of isolation, grief. We use these characters as long as they’ve been around — and most people consider them toys or action figures — to tell insanely human stories set in a very inhuman world.”
Read more at EW.com.
