Masters of the Universe: Revelation is set to debut July 23rd and the intent of the series is to continue the plotlines of the original Masters of the Universe series in modern times. Well, besides the advanced animation technology available today, that also means other updates of the classic series, and Kevin Smith, who developed the series for Netflix, explains that one of those updates means that there will be some death on the show.
If you grew up watching the original show or if you just watched it in reruns many years later, you will know that the show was never afraid to get serious (being a syndicated show allowed it more freedom than had it aired on a broadcast network), but things never got deadly for the characters on the show, even the villains. There is a reason that the multiple deaths at the beginning of Transformers: The Movie are so haunting for kids of the mid-80s, because it was so unusual to see characters die like that. Well, you might want to prepare to be haunted once more.
In a trailer breakdown for the new show for Netflix, Smith explains how things are different in this series with regards to death, "This is your childhood, just like you remember it, kids. Just, the thing is, now you're grown up enough to handle a story where perhaps death is on the menu. That's right, man, our series is designed to play like the very next episode of the classic cartoon, but in our version, people can stab each other. That's the revelation - how many people die!"
This plays into something else that Smith notes, which is that this time around, they don't have to worry about actually having He-Man and Skeletor use their weapons on each other. Just like how Wolverine couldn't ever actually stab anyone with his claws on the X-Men cartoon in the 1990s, so, too, could He-Man not actually his sword on people in the original Masters of the Universe cartoon. Stabbing is on the table for this version, though.
Developed by Kevin Smith and produced by Mattel Television with animation by Powerhouse Animation, Masters of the Universe: Revelation stars Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn, Chris Wood as Prince Adam/He-Man, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms, Stephen Root as Cringer, Diedrich Bader as King Randor/Trap Jaw, Griffin Newman as Orko, Tiffany Smith as Andra, Henry Rollins as Tri-Klops, Alan Oppenheimer (original Skeletor) as Moss Man, Susan Eisenberg as Sorceress, Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, Justin Long as Roboto, Jason Mewes as Stinkor, Phil LaMarr as He-Ro, Tony Todd as Scare Glow, Cree Summer as Priestess, Kevin Michael Richardson as Beast Man and Kevin Conroy as Mer-Man. The series premieres July 23 on Netflix.
Source: YouTube