Posted in: Netflix, Preview, TV | Tagged: he-man, kevin smith, masters of the universe, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, motu, motu revelation, netflix, skeletor

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Has The Power This July: Details

It's been close to three months since we last checked in to see how things were going with Mattel Television and Netflix's animated sequel series Masters of the Universe: Revelation, showrunner and executive producer Kevin Smith was previewing Bear McCreary's (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica) work on the transformation scene with Chris Wood's (Supergirl, The Vampire Diaries) Prince Adam uttering those famous words and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cruel Intentions) offering her thoughts on voicing Teela, Captain of the Royal Guard. But good things come to those who wait, with Smith offering some serious intel on the animated series in an exclusive EW interview. The biggest news? MOTU fans can expect the first five episodes that comprise Part 1 to premiere on the streaming service on July 23.

Here's a look at some of the highlights from the conversation:

MOTU Clearly Means A Lot to Kevin Smith: "Everything I've ever worked on in like 27 years, this is easily in the top five of my favorite, most satisfying projects. When I die, they'll be like, 'He made Clerks, remember?' 'Cause that's the most memorable thing I think I've ever done. I think this has a running shot at being like, 'He made Clerks and that one cartoon that one time.'"

MOTU: Revelation Allows For A Deeper He-Man/Skeletor Dynamic: "We get to see them engage not just in clashing swords, but in far deeper conversations than we've ever seen them before. It's not just simply like these two dudes [He-Man and Skeletor] have been trying to beat each other up for decades. We get to tell stories of abuse. We get to kind of tell stories of isolation, grief. We use these characters as long as they've been around — and most people consider them toys or action figures — to tell insanely human stories set in a very inhuman world."

How Netflix's Ted Biaselli Wanted Smith To Approach The Series: "He [Biaselli] said, 'Do me a favor. When I used to watch the shows as a kid, I legitimately thought that He-Man was always on the verge of getting killed by Skeletor. I believed in the stakes. Just make me believe that again. People would see some of this as goofy IP, but this is a rich tapestry, a world full of characters. [Biaselli] said, 'Please just don't talk down to it. Don't make fun of it. Don't wink. Just treat it like Shakespeare.' Those were our marching orders."

MOTU: Revelation Will Deal With Deception & Identity: With the MOTU universe set to face a "cataclysmic event" that will shift the characters in new directions, Smith teases that Prince Adam keeping a hidden life will cme back to haunt him in that "only certain people know the secret that Prince Adam is really He-Man. We build our entire story on who was left out of the secret and the damaging trickle-down effects of that." For Smith, that cuts to the core of one of the show's main narratives- "a hero who has to live under deception in order to protect those he loves, but it's about how that deception rots at the core."

The war for Eternia culminates in "Masters of the Universe: Revelation," an innovative and action-packed animated series that picks up where the iconic characters left off decades ago. After a cataclysmic battle between He-Man and Skeletor, Eternia is fractured and the Guardians of Grayskull are scattered. And after decades of secrets tore them apart, it's up to Teela 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.

The voice cast for Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation is a virtual "who's who" of the pop culture landscape: Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman: The Animated Series) as Skeletor, Lena Headey (Game of Thrones, 300) as Evil-Lyn, Chris Wood (Supergirl, The Vampire Diaries) as Prince Adam / He-Man, Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cruel Intentions) as Teela, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans) as Man-At-Arms, Stephen Root (Office Space, Barry) as Cringer, Diedrich Bader (Office Space, Napoleon Dynamite) as King Randor / Trap Jaw, Griffin Newman (The Tick, Vinyl) as Orko, Tiffany Smith (Behind Enemy Lines, Supernatural) as Andra, Henry Rollins (Johnny Mnemonic, Lost Highway) as Tri-Klops, and Alan Oppenheimer (original Skeletor) (Westworld, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) as Moss Man.

In addition, the cast also includes Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman, Justice League) as Sorceress, Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman & Robin) as Queen Marlena, Justin Long (Galaxy Quest, Live Free or Die Hard) as Roboto, Jason Mewes (Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) as Stinkor, Phil LaMarr (Mad TV, Justice League) as He-Ro, Tony Todd (Candyman, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Scareglow, Cree Summer (DC Super Hero Girls, Vampirina) as Priestess, Kevin Michael Richardson (The Batman, ThunderCats) as Beast Man, and Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Crisis on Infinite Earths) as Mer-Man.

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