On June 15, Mattel will unleash the Masterverse at major retailers and collector emporiums across the country.
Following the success of the ongoing Masters of the Universe (MOTU) Origins line of retro-inspired action figures, vehicles, and playsets, Masterverse brings the battle for Eternia into an entirely new scale and form factor. The core assortment of 7-inch scale, super-articulated action figures debuts with He-Man, Skeletor, Moss Man, and Evil-Lyn, each with at least 30 points of articulation. The line also includes a Skelegod 9-inch action figure and a 14-inch-long Ultimate Battle Cat.
According to Mattel, additional characters will join the Masterverse assortment later this year with some reveals likely planned for this summer’s Power-Con.
Then, on July 23, a new era of the MOTU franchise arrives this summer with the premiere of Masters of the Universe: Revelation on Netflix.
Revelation — Part 1 is a five-episode story arc that follows a cataclysmic battle between He-Man and Skeletor in which Eternia is fractured and the Guardians of Grayskull have become scattered. Teela sets out to reunite the broken band of heroes and solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power in a race against time to restore Eternia and prevent the end of the universe.
Today, Mattel and Netflix released the first set of official stills from the new series along with fresh insight from series showrunner and executive producer Kevin Smith.
“I watched all of the TV series growing up, it was everywhere in the ‘80s,” Smith says. “These characters started off as toys and ended up becoming part of the global pop culture fabric. So much of this show has been possible because of the love and fandom surrounding this franchise. There’s just so much love and affection for this world at every level of production. A big reason we got such top-tier voice talent is because people genuinely want to be a part of this world. 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.”
Smith says that the new series picks up where the original animated series — He-Man and the Masters of the Universe — left off.
“This is a continuation of that story,” he explains. “We’re playing with the original mythology and characters, and revisiting and digging deeper into those original, unresolved storylines from the original show. Visually we also made the conscious decision to lean into the original MOTU line of toys for inspiration as well. Mattel owns this entire vast library of that artwork, so right away we wanted the show to open with classic pieces of that artwork. Mattel has been committed to this look since they first started as a toy line in the ’80s, and now we’re leaning into it and honoring it.”
Of course, all of this is just a part of the ongoing MOTU relaunch. A second animated series aimed at younger audiences is expected to debut on Netflix this fall.
We all have the POWER!
