Another in the way of animated series, Netflix is back with the best nostalgia hits as it released the first Masters of the Universe: Revelation trailer.
Blasting Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero” in true ‘80s fashion, the trailer features the returning He-Man (Chris Wood) clashing in a climactic battle with Skeletor (Mark Hamill).
According to Revelation co-creator and executive producer Kevin Smith, the series will continue where the events of the classic 80s cartoon concluded, exploring the impact of the secrecy behind Prince Adam’s identity as the great champion to Eternia’s people.
Only certain people know the secret that Prince Adam is really He-Man. We build our entire story on who was left out of the secret and the damaging trickle-down effects of that,” Smith said to Entertainment Weekly.
The series will then move forward to the tale of Teela, a former guard captain of Castle Grayskull who, after the destruction of Eternia, seeks out the missing Sword of Power to prevent the end of the universe.
So is it about He-Man or Teela? In the days after the trailer’s release, fans were left befuddled about who the series is really about. Some even accused the show of pandering to political correctness and calling it “woke” for once again putting forth a female persona in a male-led series. To that, Smith had to have a spirited retort to defend the “spiritual sequel”:
If by “woke” folks mean the female characters have agency, then Revelation is exactly as woke as the cartoon to which our series is a spiritual sequel: because Teela & Evil-Lyn were in every ep, fighting alongside He-Man & Skeletor. And Sorceress is more powerful than all of ‘em. https://t.co/owBQZYr172
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) June 12, 2021
Nonetheless, Smith assures fans that Revelation will still have plenty of the power-packed hero. During an episode of the Fatman Beyond podcast, the showrunner told fans to wait for the full story trailer set to be released nearer the premiere date, as it will thwart all the “woke” fan theories.
“Once you see the story trailer kids, everything will make absolute sense. Anyone going like ‘I heard it’s this,’ you’re going to go, ‘Oh, I see,’” Smith said.
Joining He-Man’s Chris Wood and Skeletor’s Mark Hamill in the first trailer is Evil-Lyn, voiced by Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey, Teela, voiced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, Cringer, voiced Barry’s Stephen Root, and Orko, voiced by The Tick’s Griffin Newman. The official cast also includes Justin Long as Roboto, Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, Harley Quinn Smith as Ileena, and Alan Oppenheimer, who voiced the original Skeletor in the 80s series, now lending his voice to Moss-Man.
The first series of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which will consist of the first five episodes, will premiere on Netflix on July 23.