While it is the first live action movie in the franchise, the very first He-Man/Masters of The Universe movie was the animated He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, released in theaters nationwide two years earlier in 1985.
Masters of the Universe was released theatrically in the United States on August 7, 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $17 million worldwide against a budget of $22 million. At the time of release, it was met with negative reviews from film critics, but is now regarded as a cult film.[6][7][8]
Plot
On the planet Eternia, the warlord Skeletor seizes control of Castle Grayskull, the center of power in the universe. His army scatters the remaining Eternian defenders and captures the Sorceress of Grayskull, imprisoning her within a power-draining field and planning to seize power over the entire universe by the next moonrise. Skeletor's archenemies—the warrior leader He-Man, veteran soldier Man-At-Arms, and his daughter Teela—rescue locksmith Gwildor from Skeletor's troopers. Gwildor invented a "Cosmic Key" that can open a portal to anywhere by utilizing musical notes. The device was stolen by Skeletor's second-in-command, Evil-Lyn, allowing Skeletor to breach Castle Grayskull.
With Gwildor's remaining prototype of the Key, He-Man and his friends travel to the Castle. They attempt to free the Sorceress, but are overwhelmed by Skeletor's army and forced to flee through a hastily opened portal via Gwildor's Cosmic Key. The Key is lost upon their arrival on Earth and discovered by two California teenagers—orphaned high-schooler Julie Winston and her boyfriend, aspiring musician Kevin Corrigan. While experimenting with the device, they accidentally transmit a signal. Tracking it, Evil-Lyn sends Skeletor's henchmen Saurod, Blade, Beast Man, and Karg to recover the device.
Kevin believes the Key to be a new Japanese synthesizer and takes it to a music store run by his friend Charlie. At the school, Skeletor's henchmen arrive through a portal and chase Julie, who is rescued by He-Man while he and his companions search for the Key. The henchmen retreat to Grayskull where, incensed by their failure, Skeletor kills Saurod and sends the others back to Earth, with a larger force under Evil-Lyn's command. Kevin returns to the school to find police investigating the damage caused by Skeletor's men, and no sign of Julie. Kevin is taken to Julie's house by Hugh Lubic, a detective investigating the disturbance. They find no trace of Julie, but Lubic is suspicious of the Key, which he suspects Kevin may have stolen. He confiscates it and leaves for Charlie's store to verify Kevin's story. Evil-Lyn and her team break into the house and interrogate Kevin regarding the Key's location using a mind-control collar, before pursuing Lubic.
Julie and the Eternians arrive and release Kevin from the collar, then pursue Lubic and the Key. They arrive at Charlie's store, but Skeletor's forces catch up with them and a battle ensues. Evil-Lyn recovers the Key and summons Skeletor to Earth. Skeletor's forces capture the Eternians, and Julie is wounded by his lightning blast, which simultaneously erases the memory storage of Gwildor's Key. He-Man surrenders to save his comrades and is returned to Eternia as Skeletor's slave. Skeletor attempts to torture He-Man into submission to make his victory complete, but He-Man refuses to yield. The moment arrives for Skeletor to receive the power of the cosmos and declare himself the Master of the Universe.
On Earth, Gwildor repairs the Key, and Kevin re-creates the tones necessary to create a gateway to Eternia. The group, including Lubic as he attempts to arrest them, are transported to Castle Grayskull and begin battling Skeletor's forces. Resenting that Skeletor absorbed the power of the universe without sharing it with her, Evil-Lyn deserts him along with his other henchmen. He-Man retrieves the Sword of Grayskull and shatters Skeletor's staff in a duel, restoring the latter to his normal state. He-Man offers mercy, but Skeletor draws a concealed sword and attempts to kill him. To stop him, He-Man knocks Skeletor into a pit below to his apparent death. The freed Sorceress heals Julie, and Gwildor opens a portal to send the Earthlings home. Hailed as a hero for his bravery, Lubic decides to remain on Eternia.
On Earth, Julie awakens on the morning of her parents' deaths in a plane crash. Realizing the Key transported her back in time, she prevents her parents from taking the ill-fated flight. Kevin later confirms to her that their experiences were real, producing a souvenir from Eternia: a sphere containing a scene of He-Man with his sword in front of Castle Grayskull.
In the post-credits scene, Skeletor's head emerges from the water at the bottom of the pit, saying "I'll be back!"
The Masters of the Universe toyline started in 1982, which was then followed up by the television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from 1983 to 1985. The first theatrically released film to star He-Man and feature Masters of the Universe characters The Secret of the Sword was released in 1985. Work then started on producing a live action Masters of the Universe film. One of the original drafts from the script by David Odell (whose previous writing credits include Supergirl and The Dark Crystal) was reviewed in the third episode of the He-Man and She-Ra podcast, Masters Cast. The original draft included more time spent on Eternia and Snake Mountain, had Beast Man in a speaking role, and revealed that He-Man's mother was originally from Earth, like the character Queen Marlena from the Filmation animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, thus linking the two planets.[9]
Describing her character, Foster said Evil-Lyn is not villainous, "she is just doing her job and she knows how to get results, even if it means being harsh". Langella agreed, calling her a female more dedicated to Skeletor's cause than any man; she is obsessive around him because she loves him.[10] The filmmakers considered having Foster wear contact lenses to mask her naturally pale blue eyes, but decided they fit the character better. They augmented her chest, fitting cleavage into the costume. She wanted Evil-Lyn to have a long hairstyle, rather than the short style featured in the film; Mattel objected, considering it too far a departure from the toy.[11]
When offered the role, Langella said that he "didn't even blink ... I couldn't wait to play him". He cited his then-four-year-old son's love of Skeletor while running around his house yelling He-Man's battle cry "I have the power!" as the reason he played He-Man's archenemy.[12]
Filming
According to director Gary Goddard,[13] Mattel caused problems for the production crew by not paying their half of the production budget on time. A member of staff was forced to put lens caps on cameras on several shooting days, to prevent any more filming from taking place. Due to the production running out of budget, Goddard had to finance the filming of the battle scene between He-Man and Skeletor himself. Only Lundgren and Langella were present along with a skeleton crew, with the set's lighting made dark to emphasize the actors' presence.
Mattel was also initially very controlling over how He-Man was depicted in the film, insisting that the character could not appear doing anything morally wrong (such as swearing or killing). Sales of He-Man toys dipped in the middle of production, after which Goddard noted that Mattel relaxed their rules and allowed the director to have more liberties with the character.
During filming, Mattel held a contest for children for a chance to appear in the film.[14] Richard Szponder won the competition, but his victory was announced as filming was nearing completion. All the scenes taking place on Earth had been shot, so Goddard cast Szponder as the minion character Pigboy, who holds Skeletor's staff as he returns to Grayskull.
Two sound stages needed to be connected to film the interior of Castle Grayskull, with matte paintings filling in the pits of the central walk-way. Unhappy with Lundgren's reading of He-Man's dialogue, Goddard initially planned to have Lundgren's dialogue dubbed over by another actor, but was not permitted to do so due to contractual reasons. Lundgren's dialogue was subsequently re-recorded and dubbed over the original footage to better meet Goddard's standards.
Actor Frank Langella told the press he loved playing Skeletor and worked very hard to make the role as exciting as possible, remarking that it was a positive experience.[15]
Director Gary Goddard has revealed that the original cut featured a longer and emotional farewell scene inspired by The Wizard of Oz where Julie had individual lines with each Eternian. The studio demanded the scene be tightened up, but the footage still exists. [16]
The bestNew Gods movie, IMHO, is Masters of the Universe. I even corresponded with the director, who told me this was his intent, and that he had tried to get [Jack] Kirby to do the production designs, but the studio nixed it. Check it out. It requires some bending and an occasional sex change (Metron becomes an ugly dwarf, The Highfather becomes the Sorceress), but it's an amazingly close analog, otherwise. And Frank Langella's Skeletor is a dandyDarkseid!
Director Gary Goddard clarified this in a letter appearing in John Byrne's Next Men #26, in which he stated:
As the director of Masters of the Universe, it was a pleasure to see that someone got it. Your comparison of the film to Kirby's New Gods was not far off. In fact, the storyline was greatly inspired by the classic Fantastic Four/Doctor Doom epics, The New Gods and a bit of Thor thrown in here and there. I intended the film to be a "motion picture comic book," though it was a tough proposition to sell to the studio at the time. 'Comics are just for kids,' they thought. They would not allow me to hire Jack Kirby who I desperately wanted to be the conceptual artist for the picture... I grew up with Kirby's comics (I've still got all my Marvels from the first issue of Fantastic Four and Spider-Man through the time Kirby left) and I had great pleasure meeting him when he first moved to California. Since that time I enjoyed the friendship of Jack and Roz and was lucky enough to spend many hours with Jack, hearing how he created this character and that one, why a villain has to be even more powerful than a hero, and on and on. Jack was a great communicator, and listening to him was always an education. You might be interested to know that I tried to dedicate Masters of Universe to Jack Kirby in the closing credits, but the studio took the credit out.
Brian Cronin, author of the "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed" column, concludes that "the film itself was not intended to be literally a reworked Fourth World, although the intent WAS to make the film a tribute to Jack Kirby—just a tribute to ALL of his work, not just the Fourth World."[17]
Music
The musical score of Masters of the Universe was composed by Bill Conti. It was recorded by several European orchestras, chiefly the Graunke Orchestra of Munich (the only one to be credited on the soundtrack album) and conducted by a number of conductors, chiefly Bruce Miller and Harry Rabinowitz (Rabinowitz received sole credit). Conti did not conduct his score because it could not be recorded in the United States as "there was a musicians strike or something like that ... So it went to various places." He and score mixer Dan Wallin assembled the score from the various recorded takes, because there were problems with the orchestral performances.[18]
Release
Home media
The soundtrack album was released on record, cassette, and compact disc by Varèse Sarabande in 1987; it was subsequently issued in an expanded version by Edel. In 2008, La-La Land Records released a two-disc edition with the complete score and the original album presentation; in 2012, Intrada Records issued the complete score (the entirely of disc one and tracks 1–5 on disc two) on one disc. Masters of the Universe was released on DVD October 23, 2001. A 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc was released by Warner Home Video on October 2, 2012.[19]
Reception
Box office
Prior to releasing the film, The Cannon Group touted Masters of the Universe as the Star Wars of the 1980s. Despite releasing alongside the height of the success of the toy line, animated series and related merchandise, Masters of the Universe began as the third-highest-grossing film of the weekend in North America on August 7, 1987, earning $4,883,168, behind Stakeout ($5,170,403) and The Living Daylights ($7,706,230). It quickly left the charts, with a North American gross of $17,336,370.[20][2][5][21]
The film was released in the Philippines by Solar Films on September 10, 1987.[22]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 21% of 29 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.6/10.The website's consensus reads: "Masters of the Universe is a slapdash adaptation of the He-Man mythos that can't overcome its cynical lack of raison d'etre, no matter how admirably Frank Langella throws himself into the role of Skeletor."[23]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[24]
Variety called it a "Conan-Star Wars hybrid ripoff" that is "a colossal bore."[25] Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrote, "If you liked the toy, you'll love the movie."[26] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called it "a misfiring, underdone epic."[27] Johanna Steinmetz of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film, while predictable and derivative, entertains audiences through its side plots set on Earth.[28]
In a retrospective review, Glenn Heath Jr. of Slant Magazine called it a "jarring mix of corny screwball comedy and choppy action heroics."[31] Chris Eggertsen of HitFix, in an article identifying the film's campy, positive qualities, called it "an objectively bad film with a big heart."[32] Joshua Winning of Digital Spy wrote, "...beloved of '80s kids but scorned by critics, it's a high camp oddity that we should celebrate on its own terms."[4]
Legacy
The commercial failure of Masters of the Universe, among other films such as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Lifeforce, contributed to the eventual closure of Cannon Films.[11]Masters of the Universe was Lundgren's first leading role in a feature film following his success in Rocky IV and he later labeled it as his least favorite film role.[10] Conversely, Langella considers Skeletor one of his favorite roles.[12]
Skeletor's question to He-Man ("Tell me about the loneliness of good, He-Man. Is it equal to the loneliness of evil?") is slightly reworded in the Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe, a comic crossover with the Injustice franchise.[33]
Gwildor, a character created for Masters of the Universe as a replacement for Orko due to the complexity of the character to make in live action, was featured in 2024's Masters of the Universe: Revolution. In it he serves much of the same role of inventor as he does in the film, and also poses as a foil to Orko.
Future
Canceled sequel
In 1987, Globus announced a sequel, Masters of the Universe 2, at the Cannes Film Festival.[34] Despite Lundgren’s refusal to reprise the role—reportedly because he disliked the first film and instead chose to star in Cannon’s Red Scorpion (1989)—the project moved forward with surfer Laird Hamilton cast as his replacement.[35][34] Director Albert Pyun was attached to the project, having also been linked to Cannon’s planned Spider-Man adaptation, with both films reportedly set to have budgets of $2 million.[34] However, due to Cannon’s financial troubles after the box-office failures of the first Masters film and Superman IV (1987), the company refused to pay Mattel the royalties for the use of the characters. Mattel, moreover, was not pleased with the sequel’s script, and the whole project was canceled. The film rights thus reverted to Mattel. To avoid wasting the sets and costumes already prepared for the sequel (and for an unmade Spider-Man film), Cannon produced a small, low-budget movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, which they titled Cyborg (1989).[34][36]
Canceled reboot
From the 1990s through the 2020s, rumors of a possible reboot circulated several times, including one allegedly involving John Woo, though these were never confirmed. In 2007, however, Variety reported that Warner Bros., producer Joel Silver, and screenwriter Justin Marks were developing a potential film featuring updated characters and a visual style similar to 300.[37] But these and later projects repeatedly stalled, leaving the new film trapped in development hell.
In January 2019, it was reported that Art Marcum and Matt Holloway would rewrite the reboot screenplay. On February 13, 2019, Aaron and Adam Nee were chosen as directors for a film to be produced by Sony Pictures, with principal photography scheduled to begin in mid-July 2019 in Prague. On March 20, 2019, Noah Centineo was cast as He-Man.[38] However, the actor dropped out of the role on April 29, 2021, after more than two years with no updates on the project, despite its original release date having been set for March 5 of that year.[39] In June 2021, rumors began to circulate of a new film to be produced and distributed by Netflix.[40] The news was confirmed in January 2022: the Nee brothers would direct, and Kyle Allen was cast as Adam/He-Man.[41] This project, too, was ultimately canceled in 2023.[42]
Masters of the Universe (2026)
In 2024, a new film was announced, this time produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films, directed by Travis Knight, with British actor Nicholas Galitzine starring as He-Man. The worldwide release is scheduled for June 5, 2026.[43]
↑ "Bill Conti's Music of the Universe," pg. 8, liner notes, Masters of the Universe: Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, La-La Land Records LLLCD 1071.
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