Masters of the Universe directors Aaron and Adam Nee say the upcoming live-action reboot film will embrace the franchise's "wacky" and "wild" reputation -- not run from it.
The Nee Brothers -- the directors behind Paramount Pictures' new film The Lost City, starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe -- recently sat down for an exclusive interview with CBR, in which they briefly discussed their Masters of the Universe film. "One thing that was important to us is that we are unapologetic that it is a wacky, wild property, that these characters are colorful and crazy and weird," said Aaron Nee.
"We didn't want to try and tone that down or try to make it into Lord of the Rings and change everybody's names or something but instead embrace that that's one of the things that's singular about it and special about it," he continued. "The other thing from the get-go, when we were asked to come in and pitch what our take on it would be, was that what was very important to us was tapping into why, as kids, those toys and those cartoons meant so much to us. So we really spent some time together just reflecting back on what that experience was like and the experience of empowerment and possibility that came from that, from playing with those figures."
Elsewhere in the interview, the Nee Brothers were asked what lessons from working on The Lost City they were taking with them into Masters of the Universe. "I think the number one thing is movies are made by a team," Adam Nee replied. "That's a thing that is very important to always remember. You really do your job best if you're just surrounding yourself with excellent people."
On that note, Aaron Nee added, "Yeah, and one of the things that we're super fortunate about is that we are not the only ones who are Masters of the Universe super fans. So there are lots of very talented people who just have been waiting their whole life to jump in and be a part of making that movie."
For a number of years, Sony was developing a live-action Masters of the Universe reboot film with Mattel. In April 2018, the Nee Brothers were tapped as the film's directors. A year later, actor Noah Centineo was confirmed to have boarded Masters of the Universe as its lead character, He-Man. However, the film was then delayed before ultimately being removed from Sony's release schedule entirely. In April 2021, Centineo departed the project. Earlier this year, though, it was revealed that the Nee Brothers' Masters of the Universe film was now a joint venture between Mattel and Netflix, with West Side Story's Kyle Allen replacing Centineo as He-Man.
Based on Mattel's Masters of the Universe toy line, the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe originally aired on television from 1983 to 1985. The show has since received a number of spinoffs, reboots and continuations. Additionally, a live-action Masters of the Universe film starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man released in theaters in 1987.
In recent years, Netflix has become the home for all things Masters of the Universe. From 2018 to 2020, the streaming service aired She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, a reboot of the 1985-1987 series She-Ra: Princess of Power, itself a spinoff of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. In 2021, Netflix debuted Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe: Revelation, an adult-oriented continuation of the original cartoon from the '80s. Revelation is actually the second continuation of the original He-Man show, the first being 1990's The New Adventures of He-Man.
Also in 2021, Netflix put out the first season of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the second series reboot of the '80s cartoon of the same name. (The first reboot aired on Cartoon Network from 2002 to 2004.) The series' second season dropped on Netflix earlier this month.