Kevin Smith’s ‘He-Man and The Masters of the Universe’—FIRST LOOK

By the power of Grayskulll! Netflix and Mattel finally have dropped a look at Kevin Smith’s new Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center and golden wrist plates. He is holding a silver sword with both hands with his mouth open. The foliage of the forest is visible behind him.

According to Variety: The first look “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” and it turns out the characters — including He-Man, Skeletor, Teela and Orko — look a lot like they did on the beloved 1980s animated series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” just a bit glowed up.

The show will premiere globally on July 23.

In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man (right) stands behind Sorceress (left) in a stone room lit only by the light coming from SorceressesÕ hands. Sorceress has her palms outstretched in front of her and wears a white dress, a falcon-like hood over head and orange and blue wings. He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center, a golden armored belt and wrist plates.

Since the series was announced in 2019, fans have been speculating just what executive producer and showrunner Kevin Smith — writer-director of “Clerks,” “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma” — would be doing with the property. As the images make clear, Smith and the team at Powerhouse Animation (also the animation studio behind Netflix’s “Castlevania” series) are paying homage not just to the look of the original series, but its storylines as well.

In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, He-Man wears a silver chest plate with a red “H” in the center, a golden armored belt and golden wrist plates. He raises his silver sword atop Battle Cat, a green tiger with orange stripes and maroon armor on his hind legs. The two are in the center of a throne room.

“So much of this show has been possible because of the love and affection for this world at every level of production and the fandom surrounding this franchise,” Smith said in a statement. “So many of us were touched by these stories and these characters early in our lives and were so happy to come back to Eternia. But even if you’ve never watched a single episode of the show or don’t know this universe at all, you can jump right into the story. It’s a really classic, universal action-adventure epic about growth, discovery, magic, and power. This series explores destiny in a fresh way. There’s a lot of reconciling with secrets, betrayal, trust, acceptance, love, and ultimately, loss.”

“Let this be… OUR FINAL BATTLE!”#ThePowerReturns on JULY 23rd – only on @netflix!
(I wrote a bit about @MastersOfficial, @Mattel, and @powerhouseanim on my @instagram page, but I suggest you give @NetflixGeeked a follow to find out when even more MotU madness is revealed!) pic.twitter.com/606V6eFZlU

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) May 13, 2021

“Revelation” picks up where the original series left off in 1985. The first episode revolves around a life-changing battle between He-Man (voiced by Chris Wood) and his lifelong nemesis Skeletor (Mark Hamill), after which the planet of Eternia is left broken and He-Man’s compatriots fractured and estranged. He-Man’s compatriot Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) — who undergoes the most dramatic visual update on the series — is tasked with reuniting her old friends in order to save Eternia and the universe.

In a CG animated still from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Skeletor (left), who wears a purple cloak and hood over his skull, grips his spear in a battle against He-Man (right), a strong shirtless blonde male with a golden armored belt and wrist plates holding a silver sword. The two are standing face to face in a forest with bright foliage.

While the original series was pitched to children, Smith’s take is aimed squarely at the adults who remember the show fondly, including using Mattel’s original Masters of the Universe toy line as inspiration for the look of the series.

He-Man, Teela Makeovers Revealed in First Look at Netflix’s ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’ https://t.co/SerkjF0gH0

— Variety (@Variety) May 13, 2021