A giant muscle man in armor that barely protects his privates battles a man with a skull for a head, whose six-pack abs are exposed. The world of Masters of the Universe might be colorful and fun, but it’s certainly not meant to be taken seriously. And, with the new film coming to theaters this summer, director Travis Knight says his interpretation acknowledges that.
“There’s an inherent silliness to it, which we are acknowledging and embracing,” Knight said to Empire Magazine. “I think it’s a virtue, actually. And it’s woven into the script to help some of these things make sense to a modern audience. Like, why would that character have that stupid name? Well, over the course of the movie we show you why.”
The quote speaks to the idea that the Masters of the Universe world is not something most modern audiences are aware of. Surely it has its fans, both from the original toys and cartoons of the 1980s, as well as the newer Netflix animation from this decade. But for the movie to be a success in theaters, it has to reach well beyond that. And everything we’ve seen, from the fact that the film splits time between modern society and the magical world of Eternia, as well as this acknowledgement of its “inherent silliness,” speaks to that. Audiences are okay with weird stuff, but it just has to be handled right.
Some fans who adore the franchise might scoff at Knight’s implications here, but if there’s anyone we can trust, it’s probably him. Knight’s last live-action movie, Bumblebee, was similar to Masters of the Universe in a lot of ways. It was based on a franchise that became popular from toys and animation. It had previous live-action big-screen adaptations. And when Knight came on board, he was able to make a digestible, simple, entertaining movie while also being very aware of the lore and fandom surrounding the franchise. None of Michael Bay’s movies ever showed G1 Transformers fighting on Cybertron, but Knight’s did. And if he takes that balance and brings it to Masters of the Universe, it might just work.
Starring Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, and others, Masters of the Universe comes to theaters June 5.
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