Kevin Smith Discusses The Big Change Made To Skeletor In Masters Of The Universe: Revelations - Exclusive
The wait is over. After a 19-year gap since its last iteration with Cartoon Network's 2002 "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," the beloved musclebound hero of the 1980s is back, this time with Netflix's "Masters of the Universe: Revelation," a new anime-style series from showrunner Kevin Smith, brought to life by Powerhouse Animation — the same guys who dazzled us with visual arresting "Castlevania."
Unlike 2002's Cartoon Network reboot, "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" acts as a true sequel to the 1983 series, picking up where the original left off 38 years ago. Aside from its noticeably different look, there were handful of changes that Smith and crew implemented to shake up the old formula — for one, gone are the signature moral lessons that were tacked on to the conclusion of each 1980s-era episode. But the most notable story change of all comes to the never-ending losing streak of Eternia's arch-nemesis, Skeletor (diabolically voiced by Mark Hamill).
Finally, old skull face manages to one up the Sorceress, sack Castle Grayskull, and — spoiler alert — he seemingly kills Prince Adam, which could spell permanent doom for "the most powerful man in the universe," He-Man.
Recently, during Looper's exclusive interview with Smith, he explained why he had to shake things up when it came to this classic villain.
Skeletor winning brought back the tension of watching the original show as a kid
According to Kevin Smith, the change made to Skeletor ultimately stems from a conversation he had with Mattel's Rob David and super fan Ted Biaselli, who also happens to be the Director of Original Series over at Netflix.
"I met Rob first and I pitched a story. Rob, he's like, 'Let's take it to Ted, see if he likes it.'" Smith explained to Looper. "So, I met Ted and he told me this — and man, it was so beautiful and set the tone for the rest of the work. He was like, 'When I was a kid, I watched every episode and I believed that Skeletor was going to kill He-Man. I believed that in my heart, and then I got older, and I realized that s*** was never going to happen.' He goes, 'What I've wanted to see, my whole life, is a version of this show that I thought I was watching when I was a kid. I just want to believe that, they can die, that there are consequences, that there are stakes.' He's goes, 'Just show me that. Can you do that?' I said, 'I think I could do that.'"
'Just do the next episode, but do it as if everybody could stab everybody else'
So there you have it. It seems the creative crew behind "Revelation" all agreed that it was finally time for Skeletor to have his day. But that wasn't the only demand from Biaselli either. As most viewers are already aware, the stakes are considerably higher in "Masters of the Universe: Revelation." Bloodshed and death occur, and it's not just hinted at or taking place offscreen either — it happens out in the open, something the kid-friendly original dodged altogether.
"What they essentially asked me to do is like, 'Just do the next episode, but do it as if everybody could stab everybody else.' And I was like, 'I think I can handle it,'" says Smith. "So, between those two guys, one runs Mattel. So, it's his whole job to make sure that 'Masters of the Universe' continues to sell. And the other guy, who made this whole thing f***ing happen, who worked his whole life and wound up at Netflix, after being at Hasbro and Disney, to finally be in a place where he can make his dream 'Masters of the Universe' animated series. Between those two guys, I couldn't f*** up. I couldn't walk in and be like, 'Hey man, what if like Skeletor is hanging out in front of Quickstop? They'd be like, 'Kevin, that's your day job. Here, you do this.' So honestly, there was never fear, ironically enough. I was never like, 'Boy, I hope the fans love this,' because number one fan – the guy who writes our checks, the guy without whom we don't get a job — he was the first person and the only person we had to please, cause I was like, 'We get him, we got everybody else.'"
"Masters of the Universe: Revelation" is now streaming on Netflix.