Kevin Smith’s journey into Eternia continues inMasters of the Universe: Revolutionon Netflix, the retilled second season of his He-Man reboot. Having divided fans withMasters of the Universe: Revelationchoosing to remove its central character for much of its 10 episodes, this time around it seems that Smith has been giving critics something to get excited about. The new season’s Netflix debut landed itself a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, but it seems that audiences have not let the sense of nostalgia go to their heads.
Even after 40 years, theMasters of the Universefranchise has a huge fan base. However, with that kind of following, any new attempt to revitalize the franchise is always going to come up against the barred gates of nostalgic memory and loyalty to both the ‘80s animated series and the Dolph Lundgren-starring 1987 movie. Smith’s He-Man project doesn’t try to compete with the former of these, but instead goes one step further in trying to continue it, something that hit a stumbling block with fans when the first season focused much more on Teela than He-Man.
InMOTU: Revolution, that problem is resolved, and He-Man once again has a permanent place in the story. But even that hasn’t managed to please everyone. Despite a very positive Tomatometer score, audiences onRotten Tomatoeshave delivered a middle-of-the-road approval score of 71%, with a sharp divide between either loving the new episodes, or hating them.
Why a Live-Action Masters of the Universe Reboot Film Hasn’t Been Made
The Live-Action Masters of the Universe reboot film has been stuck in development hell for nearly twenty years.
Why is Revisiting Masters of the Universe So Difficult?
It seems that, like many older IPs, the need to update and modernize inMasters of the Universe: Revolutionis something that also hinders it. Whether it is complaints over the treatment of certain characters, dialogue, storyline, or whatever else fans can latch onto, it seems that there is little chance of any new project based on the franchise pleasing everyone.
Smith’s reboot debuted in 2021, alongside another animated series,He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,a Netflix series aimed at a younger audience that completely redesigned the world of Eternia’s muscleman, oddly to a much warmer reception. Outside these animated offerings, there is also thelive-action reboot of Masters of the Universeto consider, which still appears to be in development despite being stuck in limbo for years.
The live-action movie has changed hands as though being passed around a streaming platform marketplace. Last year, it seemed that Netflix was going all-in and adding the movie to their collection ofMasters of the Universeshows. However, the project eventually collapsed andwas picked up by MGM, now under the mighty umbrella of Amazon. Although this seemed to lead to everything from Netflix’s planned movie being shifted across to its new home, there have been no further updates on its progress one way or the other since November’s announcement.
While fans still await news on that front, they can enjoy – or criticize –Masters of the Universe: Revolutionon Netflix now.
