Don't worry about being "off-topic", I do that more than anyone.
This will be a long-winded, two-part post as I have a lot to say about the things you've presented.
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That's a very interesting Moss Man. Quite different but overall I like it. I looked up Masterverse briefly and it sounded quite a bit similar to Classics, aside from the $20 price point (HOW is that gonna work, exactly? Cheaper plastic and fewer accessories, I guess, but we'll see), and I was gonna ask "Why not just keep Classics going instead, then?" but that makes me think that the characters will mostly be dramatically redesigned, to various degrees. In that case, an entirely new line does make more sense.
I am forever in favor of more MOTU so whatever, bring it on! All of it!
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What's so funny is, brands like MOTU and TMNT had such a symbiotic relationship between their toys and their cartoons, as you pointed out, to the point where one was essentially a commercial for the other. BUT, fast forward to modern times, and neither of those brands can hold a TV show and seem destined to remain nothing but an eternal string of successive toy lines. I've said in other threads many times, in 50 years I definitely don't see people still making TMNT cartoons or movies anymore, especially at the rate they've been going since the Nick sale with each new version being worse than the last. But the NECA and Super7 toys have generated a ton of interest, and it seems to me like that is the future of the TMNT brand: a never-ending series of toy lines aimed at nostalgic adult collectors, just like MOTU has been for the past decade (and may remain if other projects fail to pan out).
I mean, let's be honest, when the news about Smith's animated MOTU project came out, the reaction wasn't exactly rapturous. It was mostly split between people biting their nails over how bad Smith might screw it up, and the rest were people saying "A new MOTU series? Seriously? People still care about that?" It hurts, but it's the truth. And I think even Mattel knows that, since they solicited a limited-run series and not a multi-season ongoing. They know that not enough people would watch a new MOTU cartoon in the 21st century to make it worth the investment. Therefore, as symbiotic as the relationship between the toys and the cartoons was back in the 80s, MOTU is almost certainly going to remain predominantly JUST a line of nostalgia toys that can't even sustain a cartoon show anymore.
TMNT will get there, too, if it's not there already. The movies tanked and nobody watched "Rise", so the future looks bleak. One day, that brand too will be "JUST a toyline" and the idea of a new cartoon will be laughed at because "Who even cares anymore?"
Maybe that's cynical, but hey... Entropy is the One and Only Constant in the entire known universe.
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I feel like quality-wise, the MOTU movie might end up the same even if it ends up on Netflix. It was obvious from the years of pre-production hell that the main thing is, the studio doesn't expect it to make a lot of money and therefore does not want to sink a ton of money into it. That right there puts a ceiling on how good it can be. And they're probably right, it probably would not make a ton of money because of how small the fanbase really is, but it's a shame that they're afraid to aim high all the same. I mean, how many people even knew "Lord of the Rings" before those movies came out? Lots of people, sure, but not the same audience that goes to the movies, very generally speaking, not by half. Not a single person I knew even read those damn books before; the movies became a phenomenon just by being Really Good, not because there was a huge audience for the property beforehand, and thus they created an entire
new audience for the property out of literally thin air. Millions upon millions of people who in 1999 wouldn't have read those books if you put a gun to their head, a few short years later went out and bought them all after being blown away by the movies.
I very firmly, very strongly believe that the same thing CAN happen with MOTU. People say that it's silly; it's not, they're ignorant, but that's how they feel. But that can be changed very easily with a really good live action film that treats the property with the reverence it deserves instead of treating it like a campy extended gay joke. For whatever reason, people treat films as if they have greater "legitimacy" than other forms of media. You can have a successful video game, cartoon, or comic book, but the general thinking of the mainstream is, "If you were any good, you'd have a movie, and that movie would make one-point-six billion dollars and not a penny less." Again, it's a bullsh*t way of thinking, but it's the consensus. Your brand ain't sh*t unless it makes a billion at the theater; otherwise, it's kids' stuff. A MOTU film CAN "legitimize" the entire property in the eyes of the general public, but it has to be done properly and taken seriously, first. If it ends up being something like "Transformers", or god forbid the "Jem and the Holograms' movie, well... then absolutely nothing was gained and we're arguably worse off than we started.
Perhaps the fact that there's "less pressure" around a Netflix release means it may turn out even better than a theatrical release. One can hope. There are so many variables in play that it's tough to predict. My problem is, again, Perception Is Reality, and most people look at Netflix movies and say, "Those aren't Real Movies." I'd hate it if after 30 years of waiting for it, it finally comes out but people ignore or dismiss it because of the distribution model. It may be good for the film, but not for its perception and reputation, sadly. Even if it came out and was great, people would say it "doesn't count". Because that's how people are.
I don't know. I don't honestly think about it too much, because like I said... they "promised" a new movie 20 years ago and we're like three inches closer Now than we were Then. I'll get excited when I see something concrete. yeah, they hired a guy to play he-Man... that really doesn't mean much, sadly. Especially with the pandemic turning the entire industry upside-down.
Frankly, I expect the latest version of the movie project to be one of the many, many movies that will inevitably become a victim of the pandemic. It'll be very quietly cancelled because there's no money to spend on it and no audience willing to pay to see it. It sucks, but seriously, the entire industry is gonna have a near-impossible task in trying to crawl out of the wreckage from this disaster, and MOST of the announced movie projects from the last year or so simply aren't going to happen, now.
The movie industry is in a shambles and even Disney is tightening their belt. That tells me, there's simply not going to be any place for a He-Man movie once the smoke clears. Maybe not even if they huck it to Netflix. I'd love to be wrong, but... we'll see.
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