Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Kevin Smith's ambitious and grown-up sequel to the Filmation's 1980s He Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon, was deemed too woke and girly by its fans despite Smith's rigorous effort to honor the original's every detail. After he told them to "fuck off" they did, taking the series' ratings with them.
And now comes a trailer for this year's second He Man reboot, this time in a cuter, 3D-animated form that actual children might conceivably watch. It ditches almost everything from the original and teams a reimagined He-Man with a new cast of characters. Orko is now a robot. As Gizmodo puts it: "hoo boy."
The franchise's traditional fantasy setting seems to be gone, and the characters relocated to a more sci-fi setting (emphasised by He-Man's tech-based powered sword). And while Skeletor is still the antagonist, it seems like his secret origin as Prince Adam's uncle Keldor will play a role in the story. So yeah, these are a lot of changes, all clearly designed to broaden — maybe focus is the better word — the franchise for much younger kids. The protagonists are younger, the character designs are cartoonishly exaggerated in an appealing way, and it appears that the heroes all get to transform into costumed heroes — not just Adam.
With respect to the guys online angry about all this, to be honest, at this point I just like to watch them suffer. Come, beanmouth He-Man, and fall on Twitter!
