Posted in: Disney+, Netflix, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: disney, kevin smith, masters of the universe, netflix, preview, streaming, trailer

Kevin Smith Opens Up About Disney Streaming Series That Could've Been

Long before the filmmaker & all-around geek icon began applying his magic to the MOTU universe with Mattel Television &  Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation, (which returns to the streamer for "Part Two" on November 23rd), Kevin Smith was close to being a foundational part of The Walt Disney Company's streaming plans back before everyone and their mothers learned that putting a "+" in your streaming name was cool. Smith had previously discussed the project "Kingdom Keepers" 1-1/2 years earlier in a tweet (see below), which would adapt the series of novels that sounds like a take on the "Night at the Museum" franchise. At night after the park closes, various characters come to life with some classic Disney villains and others sworn to defend the park from them. During a recent edition of his and co-host Marc Bernardin's podcast FatMan Beyond LIVE (which you can check out here), Smith offered more details on just how far along things were before the project was killed.

"In the beginning when they were still birthing the ideas of Disney+ before it even had a name and stuff, the Disney Channel was in charge of all the programming. Then they put this other dude [in charge], I forget his name, but he was the guy that was like 'Let's do Marvel shows, let's do this.' And he was the dude that killed our show," Smith revealed during the podcast. "And the word I heard back was that dude was like 'This property has way too much IP in it. He's got every f-cking Disney character alive,' because that's what we were developing. The book kind of is about kids that go into Disney after dark and the park comes to life and sh-t like that. Real fun, fantasy stuff." Smith was even taken out to do some early location scouting of the locales. "I met with producers, they took me to Disney after dark and we talked about the logistics of how we would shoot the park sequences during the day," Smith added.

From there, Smith further explains how excited he was for the project as well as just how quickly the excitement turned to him questioning if it was even worth the time he spent considering the outcome. "It was crazy and the whole time I was working on this thing I was like 'I can't believe I got this job. Sooner or later this is going to stop. No way this happens. They brought me to Disney to the lot and showed me the volume, 'The Mandalorian' wall, even before 'Mandalorian' happened. I remember I took video with my own camera [of it]. At that point when I met producers and they showed me the volume and talked logistics, that's when I was like 'This show might actually f**king happen,'" Smith explained, as the experience was about to take a dramatic turn. "But then killed, just instantly. Dude who was hired was like 'Pull the f**king plug.' I don't bear any ill-will. I was like 'It's all their property.' I didn't come to them like 'This is my baby,' they came to me… at the end of the day, I was like 'Oh, it's over now.' All that work belongs to them and they're like 'It's gonna go on a shelf and nobody will ever see it or deal with it' and there is a moment of like 'Well, was that a waste of time? Did I just waste all my time?'" Now here's a look back at Kevin Smith's tweet from April 2020 discussing the matter:

Now here's a look at what Smith has coming up at a streamer that did appreciate his skills, we proudly present the official trailer for Mattel Television &  Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation "Part Two" (premiering November 23rd):

Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation stars Mark Hamill – Skeletor; Lena Headey – Evil-Lyn; Chris Wood – Prince Adam / He-Man; Sarah Michelle Gellar – Teela; Liam Cunningham – Man-At-Arms; Stephen Root – Cringer; Diedrich Bader – King Randor / Trap Jaw; Griffin Newman – Orko; Tiffany Smith – Andra; Henry Rollins – Tri-Klops; Alan Oppenheimer (original Skeletor) – Moss Man; Susan Eisenberg – Sorceress; Alicia Silverstone – Queen Marlena; Justin Long – Roboto; Jason Mewes – Stinkor; Phil LaMarr – He-Ro; Tony Todd – Scare Glow; Cree Summer – Priestess; Kevin Michael Richardson – Beast Man; Kevin Conroy – Mer-Man; Dennis Haysbert – King Grayskull; Adam Gifford – Vikor; and Jay Tavare – Wundar.

From showrunner and executive producer Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation is written by Marc Bernardin (Castle Rock, Alphas), Eric Carrasco (Supergirl), Diya Mishra (Magic the Gathering), and Tim Sheridan (Reign of the Supermen)- with music composed by Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Outlander) and animation from Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania). The animated series is also executive produced by Frederic Soulie (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Adam Bonnett (Descendants), Christopher Keenan (Justice League, Batman Beyond), and Rob David (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe)- and produced by Susan Corbin (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe)- and produced by Mattel Television.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!