Kevin Smith Opens Up About The Response To Masters Of The Universe: Revelation
Last week saw the release of the second half of Kevin Smith's explosive extended adventures of He-Man and co. in "Masters of the Universe: Revelation." Paying homage to the original cartoon and doing an incredible job of setting up a new one that could go further, Smith's journey through Eternia has been met with ups and downs, mainly from the fans he was trying to please.
He's not the first fearless storyteller to handle a beloved property, of course. The Master of the Askewniverse is following in the worn footsteps of J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Paul Feig, who all dared to handle major franchises in the past and faced a ferocious kickback. Unfortunately, Smith felt some of the same negativity with his reboot. Following a recent chat with Screen Rant, though, the "Clerks" director revealed just how hard it was to handle and what it took to find the power (of Grayskull) to movie past it.
Smith thought everyone hated his guts -- but he was wrong
Following the release of "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" part two, Kevin Smith recalled to Screen Rant how he struggled with the show's initial release and the reaction it got. "I was clicking on all the negatives, and all that was coming at me was the sea of, 'You f***ed up my childhood, you piece of s**t. How could you remove the Iron Cross?'" said Smith.
"Just on and on people shredding me for making 'Masters of the Universe' when I honestly believe in my heart of hearts I was like, 'This is the most faithful telling of these characters' tales since Mattel minted their backstories,'" Smith added. The response was something he never expected, as the director felt he'd been on the right track. "I did not think we were upsetting the applecart, so where I stood, I was at the eye of a storm, and everybody hated my guts, and we had failed — that's what my timeline was telling me."
Thankfully, it was a call from an outside perspective that straightened up Smith's field of vision and reassured him that what he'd delivered was what some fans, at least, were happy to see.
Positive reaction from fans was a revelation to Smith
Speaking to Malcolm Ingram, director of the upcoming documentary, "Clerk," which details Kevin Smith's tumultuous journey to make his debut film, the appointed head of Grayskull learned it wasn't as bad as he thought. "Malcolm calls me out of the blue, he texts me first, and he goes, 'Hey, congrats, you've got the most-talked-about show on the planet right now, it's getting great reviews, and everybody loves it, you must be so happy.'" Smith certainly wasn't. Not yet, anyway.
After realizing he must've been looking on the internet from the hellish domain of Subternia with the reactions he saw, Smith learned things weren't as bad as he thought. "I immediately put down everything I was doing and call Malcolm to be like, 'Is that your read of the situation?' He's like, 'Yeah, all I see is positivity and stuff, what are you seeing?' I was like, 'All I'm seeing is people that hate my guts,' and he's like, 'Well, stop clicking on negative things.'" It was a wise action to take and provided a bit of clarity for the disheartened director and may be the reassurance required for the future of He-Man.
While there's currently no confirmation of if "Masters of the Universe" will be back for more sword-swinging action, that cliffhanger ending of an old foe suggests there are plenty more adventures ahead.