Another New He-Man Netflix Cartoon separate from Kevin Smiths

[Autbot_Benz]

Get ready to raise your mighty power sword aloft once again and yell “By the power of Grayskull!” Netflix has announced the return of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in an all-new animated CGI animated series. Yes, this is in addition to the previously announced Masters of the Universe: Revelation anime series coming to us from Kevin Smith!

This new series, made in partnership with Mattel Television, will reimagine the Masters of the Universe classic tale with all-new storylines and a fresh take on the iconic characters. You can check out the first preview art, as well as the series’ first official synopsis, down below:

“On the planet of Eternia, a young lost prince discovers the powers of Grayskull and transforms into He-Man, Master of the Universe! The classic battle between He-Man and evil Skeletor rages to new heights as both hero and villain forge new and mighty teams. A new generation of heroes fighting for the fate of us all. In the end, who will become Master of the Universe?”
Key art for the newest animated incarnation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, coming soon to Netflix.
Netflix

From the sound of things, this doesn’t look like it will stray too far from the classic formula that made the original series and toyline so massively popular decades ago. And the teaser image certainly evokes the He-Man of yesteryear. This new series has a well known assortment of names behind it that should be familiar to animation and comics fandom. The show is being executive produced by Adam Bonnett (Descendants), Christopher Keenan (Justice League), and Rob David (Masters of the Universe: Revelation), Jeff Matsuda (The Batman), Susan Corbin (Voltron), and Arrow’s Bryan Q Miller.

Mattel’s Fred Soulie said in a statement that “Masters of the Universe is one of the most iconic global franchises of all time, with a 30-year history and a passionate fan base. The entire team at Mattel is excited to introduce the world of He-Man to a new generation and, together with the talented team at Netflix, to reimagine the classic characters in a way that appeals to kids and families today, while also resonating with the fans who grew up with them.”

He-Man defends Castle Grayskull from the forces of evil, in the promo art from the 1980s toyline.
Mattel

This new series means that going forward, Mattel and Netflix are approaching the Masters franchise in a very interesting way. They are extending the continuity of the original ’80s Filmation series with Kevin Smith’s Revelations, and also rebooting it with this new show. Oh, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is still out there, which is in a universe all its own. Or is it connected to this new show? Should we be calling this franchise Masters of the Multiverse instead? Actually, that’s the title of a current comic from DC. Maybe the seeds for a He-Man multiverse are being planted right there!

In addition, plans are still in the cards for the live-action Masters of the Universe movie from Sony to land in 2021. Rumors have been circulating that it may possibly forego theaters and go straight to Netflix, which would then make the streamer the main home for all things He-Man. Although we must add that these are still rumors, and the movie currently does have a theatrical release date of March 21st of that year. But regardless of where it lands, one thing is for sure. And that is that the next couple of years are going to be epic for fans of all things Eternian.

Featured Image: Netflix/Mattel

https://nerdist.com/article/new-he-m...eries-netflix/

[Leo656]

Huh. Audience confusion, much?

I mean, He-Man's like my second-favorite thing, so sure. Just feels weird.

And why the hell everybody gotta go and give the man a big clunky Final Fantasy sword anymore? The original is iconic; I have a stainless steel replica based on the original cartoon design and it's sexy as hell. Why mess with perfection?

We'll see what happens. Definitely interesting news, just... weird.

[newfan]

Surprising to get another, so, one Anime style with no 'He-Man' in the title but follows on from the story of the old show. Now a CGI with He-Man in the title but new stories to suit and new audience. .. if I got that right? .. ok

As for the movie, I mean still good to get one but I was hoping to go and see it on the big screen, guess it just depends if they expect enough interest?

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I'm not surprised, since the She-Ra cartoon debuted in November 2018.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by newfan

As for the movie, I mean still good to get one but I was hoping to go and see it on the big screen, guess it just depends if they expect enough interest?

I've honestly never expected it to ever come out in theaters. Or at all, frankly. Hoped, sure, but not expected. I'm one of the franchise's biggest fans but I'm aware that it doesn't have the same impact nowadays. Kinda sad since it was The Biggest Thing On Earth for like two years in the early-80s but has really become one of the "forgotten" franchises of the era otherwise. People at large just don't care anymore.

I mean, I feel like they SHOULD care; Nothing, to me, is cooler than "Star Wars meets Dungeons & Dragons". But that's one man's opinion.

I've been saying since they announced it in 2003 or so: Theatrical release, straight to disc, straight to streaming, whatever; I won't believe it's coming out until I see it for myself, because nobody but me gives a sh*t about it. Same goes for Thundercats. I don't *like* it, but I'm well aware what the temperature is.

[Coola Yagami]

I wonder how this will affect the She-Ra cartoon if at all.

[sdp]

A SJW She Ra show,a show aimed at adults and now this. Unless this connects to She-Ra despite having a different art style.

In anotherway I guess it makes sense that they're making this new toyline for kids that appeals to the older crowd but will also have kids who will want to get a version of those toys.

Then again has a Netflix show toyline actually sold well? I think the only one that might've is Stranger Things. Voltron toyline died, Stretch Armstrong died, I can't think of other netflix exclusive cartoons that had a toyline.

Originally Posted by Leo656

Huh. Audience confusion, much?

[Leo656]

I mean, all I hear anymore is that Mattel isn't doing well (losing the DC license and might even lose the WWE license soon?), so if I were them I'd probably be flinging crap at the wall to see what sticks, too.

It's a real shame; they were the Kings, at one point.

EDIT: Not calling any of the upcoming shows that we haven't even seen yet "crap"; it's simply a figure of speech.

[IMJ]

I know it's a stretch to make this observation based on a shadowed poster, but the lines and art direction seem to resemble that pretty decent early 00's show art. IIRC that had a pretty cool figure line with it too.

[Leo656]

They were excellent as long as you don't care about knee/elbow joints or figures having the ability to stand up unassisted.

But no, I actually have like 3/4s of the 2003 line. Gorgeous to look at, pretty damn spiffy action features, and MY GOD, that voice chip Castle Grayskull. But the action poses make it so at least half of these f*ckers won't stand up for sh*t. They're definitely meant to be played with, not displayed. But a great, great line by 2003 standards.

I have a bunch of 'em on a bookshelf as we speak. Great look, but I had to get really creative to make 'em stay upright. I gotta buy a bunch of display stands one day, but eh.

I love the line, it's just flawed.

The accompanying comic books that came out at the time were also excellent.

[Allio]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I mean, all I hear anymore is that Mattel isn't doing well (losing the DC license and might even lose the WWE license soon?), so if I were them I'd probably be flinging crap at the wall to see what sticks, too.

They can perish for all I care. the only thing they had good going for them is gone and I no longer want them.

[Leo656]

I'm curious, what would that be, exactly?

I'll always have a soft spot for Mattel. They're responsible for probably half the toys I've collected over my entire lifetime.

[ZariusTwo]

Miller's a great pair of hands. Glad to see he's involved.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Leo656

replica based on the original cartoon design.

The sword was originally intended to be split into two pieces, one of them owned by He-Man and the other by Skeletor. That idea comes from the 1981 Blackstar cartoon where John Blackstar posesses one piece of the sword and Overlord the other.

[TommyT]

You

Originally Posted by Leo656

I'm on record, I'd care less about it if there was something for people who DON'T like it to sink their teeth into, and I suspect many people feel the same. Pretty sure most of the most vicious "haters" wouldn't even care if it didn't feel like they were being frozen out.

I genuinely don't understand why huge, established franchises such as TMNT don't always have different "flavors" on the shelf for the fans who have different tastes.
TMNT historically only lets one type of fan at a time have their "turn" to play with it, and that's very frustrating. I'm sure that Rise does exactly what it sets out to do and hits all the notes for people who want exactly that, but if you DON'T like it, well... You get nothing. And that, I suspect, is the actual reason why so many people are so violently against it.

Also you

Originally Posted by Leo656

Huh. Audience confusion, much?

I mean, He-Man's like my second-favorite thing, so sure. Just feels weird.
And why the hell everybody gotta go and give the man a big clunky Final Fantasy sword anymore? The original is iconic; I have a stainless steel replica based on the original cartoon design and it's sexy as hell. Why mess with perfection?

We'll see what happens. Definitely interesting news, just... weird.

[AT-Man]

“On the planet of Eternia, a young lost prince discovers the powers of Grayskull and transforms into He-Man, Master of the Universe! The classic battle between He-Man and evil Skeletor rages to new heights as both hero and villain forge new and mighty teams. A new generation of heroes fighting for the fate of us all. In the end, who will become Master of the Universe?”

No mention of Prince Adam and mention of new teams. It might as well be all new characters save for He-Man and Skeletor, who also might be those in names only.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by TommyT

You


Also you

Fair point, but allow me to clarify a few things:

- On one hand, TMNT has always, always been able to fit in more than one "box"; some of it is for kids, some of it is more grown-up. In theory, there really IS no reason why a cartoon show like "Rise" can't be on TV at the same time as, say, a PG-13 film could be in movie theaters or an R-Rated, Mirage-based show could be on Netflix. No reason at all. You and I mostly agree on this, I think. I was bemoaning the fact that the franchise owners of TMNT insist on keeping it in the "Little Kids" toybox and denying older fans their own slice of the pie, when there's nothing really stopping them from having different versions out at the same time.

- He-Man, conversely, is a kids' property by design and almost entirely by execution, save for a few newer DC comic books that have gotten a decidedly mixed reaction. It's never been proven to work as anything but a kids' property. I think it can, but it hasn't yet, and likely won't get that chance on a large-scale platform like a TV show or movie. The comics, yeah, but nobody reads comics. They can do whatever they want, nobody's paying attention.

- Before ONE new He-Man cartoon exists as anything more than a promise... we get another one? It doesn't bother me, it's just WEIRD. It raises a lot of questions. Do they not have faith in Kevin Smith's version? One would think that if it succeeds, they'll continue it. How different will the Other show really be? We don't know yet. One is supposedly a continuation of the classic show, the other a straight reboot; if they're both fundamentally kids' shows, is it really necessary to have both of them at the same time? For one thing, younger kids don't care about He-Man at all, so who's the "newer" show for? Wouldn't older fans theoretically prefer a continuation of the original series more than the third or fourth do-over?

It's not really that confusing, and I do think that people will easily figure it out, but the entire way they're rolling it out is just strange. Like if one show was for young kids and the other was R-rated like the newer DC comics, with Skeletor cutting off the head of The Sorceress and sh*t like that, then sure, I'd completely get the point of having multiple shows at once. What they're doing with these two shows at once doesn't seem entirely necessary. BUT. That's just my gut reaction based on very little information.

Hope that clears it up.

[newfan]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Like if one show was for young kids and the other was R-rated like the newer DC comics, with Skeletor cutting off the head of The Sorceress and sh*t like that, then sure, I'd completely get the point of having multiple shows at once. What they're doing with these two shows at once doesn't seem entirely necessary. .

I did wonder if this would be the case just for a moment, CGI version for kids and anime version for adults, which as you said makes more sense. I wonder if it is just down to one being more like a sequel and so they wanted one to start over with a different tone/new take? As you said, little info at the moment.

[TommyT]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Fair point, but allow me to clarify a few things:

- On one hand, TMNT has always, always been able to fit in more than one "box"; some of it is for kids, some of it is more grown-up. In theory, there really IS no reason why a cartoon show like "Rise" can't be on TV at the same time as, say, a PG-13 film could be in movie theaters or an R-Rated, Mirage-based show could be on Netflix. No reason at all. You and I mostly agree on this, I think. I was bemoaning the fact that the franchise owners of TMNT insist on keeping it in the "Little Kids" toybox and denying older fans their own slice of the pie, when there's nothing really stopping them from having different versions out at the same time.

- He-Man, conversely, is a kids' property by design and almost entirely by execution, save for a few newer DC comic books that have gotten a decidedly mixed reaction. It's never been proven to work as anything but a kids' property. I think it can, but it hasn't yet, and likely won't get that chance on a large-scale platform like a TV show or movie. The comics, yeah, but nobody reads comics. They can do whatever they want, nobody's paying attention.

- Before ONE new He-Man cartoon exists as anything more than a promise... we get another one? It doesn't bother me, it's just WEIRD. It raises a lot of questions. Do they not have faith in Kevin Smith's version? One would think that if it succeeds, they'll continue it. How different will the Other show really be? We don't know yet. One is supposedly a continuation of the classic show, the other a straight reboot; if they're both fundamentally kids' shows, is it really necessary to have both of them at the same time? For one thing, younger kids don't care about He-Man at all, so who's the "newer" show for? Wouldn't older fans theoretically prefer a continuation of the original series more than the third or fourth do-over?

It's not really that confusing, and I do think that people will easily figure it out, but the entire way they're rolling it out is just strange. Like if one show was for young kids and the other was R-rated like the newer DC comics, with Skeletor cutting off the head of The Sorceress and sh*t like that, then sure, I'd completely get the point of having multiple shows at once. What they're doing with these two shows at once doesn't seem entirely necessary. BUT. That's just my gut reaction based on very little information.

Hope that clears it up.

I think, and hear me out, I think, maybe, they're just a little bit nervous, given the massive disaster that is and was Cal-arts She-ra.

I know we grew up with a singular vision for most IP's, and that was standard, the ole' "what is and is not cannon" argument was normal.

I also think, if they were to play it safe, and resurrect the Filmation series, The fans would be indifferent, and the show would probably largely go un noticed.

This is great, I think, if only to help pave the way fo more IP's to think about trying out different ideas, at the same time, creating a kind of internal competition. Smith is a terrible creative, with little to no love for He-man. I don't love the new posters much more, hate that goofball sword, but it does tell me, they're thinking of trying a few different things, and more could be better.

the short of the long, I agree with many flavors of icecream, better odds of one being birthday-cake or rocky road or red velvet.

[Leo656]

What's got me nervous is the fact that we already had a great reboot and it flamed out, so now I'm afraid of what we might get instead.

I mean I can just picture some executive in a board room going, "Well, folks, the 2003 series was a faithful, updated, modernized reimagining of the original series that was brand new yet completely reverent to what came before. It respected everything people loved about the original and added a bunch more. So... What can we do that is NOTHING like that at all?!"

I mean, the show and toys were excellent. MOTU 2003 is full-stop one of the best reboots of all time. It didn't fail because it had anything wrong with it whatsoever; Mattel committed suicide on the reboot by short-packing the "good" figures one per case while pumping out He-Man and Skeletor repaints nobody wanted, then complaining that nobody bought the toys, "And y'know, can't have a cartoon if the toys don't sell," and that was the end of that. Between the toys, the merch, the cartoon, the DVDs and the comics, the 2003 reboot was inarguably one of the best, and indeed most successful attempts at any such project, ever. It didn't do as well as it should have, but it was still a great piece of business, objectively.

Now, my problem is, I don't expect Mattel or the people making these new shows to necessarily understand WHY that reboot flamed out despite being Mostly Perfect. I don't entirely count on them to understand what was done Right and what was done Wrong, that time. I expect to hear things like, "Well, it was too serious," or, "We should have aimed at younger fans and not at Old-Timers," or, "It should have had more super-broad comedy in it", or "People just don't care about He-Man anymore." I don't ever expect to hear things like, "Yeah, we did every possible thing to perfection, we just under-shipped a few action figures, then overreacted. Our fault, really. The approach was dead-on, otherwise." Has Mattel ever admitted their own hand in screwing things up back then? If so, it's news to me.

I'm used to people throwing out the baby with the bathwater on stuff like this. I'm used to stuff like Thundercats 2011 failing, so in turn they do something like "Thundercats Roar", or whatever it is. I'm used to the Nick TMNT show running out of gas, so they replace it with "Rise", of all things. "This was neat, but we did that already... NOW let's do the Exact Opposite and just hope it works." It usually does NOT work.

So, I'm very excited that my favorite dormant property is showing signs of life, but at the same time, very wary of just what decisions were made as to how this could be achieved, and what had to be compromised and/or sacrificed along the way.

I am keeping an eye on it and am very cautiously optimistic, though. I WANT all of the new He-Man stuff to be great, because in my life, Superman and He-Man are more or less in First Place and everything else is waaaaaay down on the list. TMNT is a pimple on my ass compared to how I feel about He-Man, and that's just how it is. So I'm conflicted, and reserved, and a little bit nervous about this new stuff, but only because I care SO much.

I sincerely, desperately want it to all be awesome. Here's hoping. Maybe third time's the charm, who knows?