MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

KEVIN SMITH REVEALS THE DAY HE GOT HIS FABULOUS SECRET POWERS, AND WHY MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION IS A RITE OF PASSAGE

WORDS: DARREN SCOTT

KEVIN SMITH IS EXCITED. “I’ve been waiting to talk about this fucking show for, like, two years!” he bawls.

This, ahem, show is the long-awaited continuation of 1983 Filmation classic He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe. A Netflix animation, Masters Of The Universe: Revelation is aimed at adults who grew up loving the show but also a new, modern audience.

“…and I’m telling you, Mallrats was rubbish!”

Since it was announced at He-Man convention Power-Con in 2019, filmmaker Smith has had difficulty keeping the secrets of Eternia. “I give everything away. I’m not like M Night Shyamalan, where you can’t know the ending. I’ll tell you the ending of fucking Clerks III before it fucking happens and shit.”

MEETING OF MINDS

Before he does that, let’s nip back to pre- Power-Con, to ask how it came to pass that Smith landed the dream job.

“By accident,” he admits. “And by total laze.” Smith’s agent called to say Mattel – the toy company behind MOTU – wanted a meeting. “He said, ‘They’re in Santa Monica’. And I was like, ‘Oh, fuck Santa Monica, that’s like 45 minutes away. I ain’t going there.’”

Fortunately, his agent called back and said they’d be happy to come to him. It was at this meeting where they explained they had three different He-Man projects happening: a liveaction version, a kids’ version “which reinvents it and it’s CG and stuff” and a third which “spiritually sequelises the classic series from the ’80s.”

It turns out that Rob David – executive producer of the series and Vice President, Content Creative at Mattel Television – was a fan of Smith’s comic book work on Daredevil. But, he asked, did Smith think he could handle the most powerful man in the universe?

“So I came up with a story, which is pretty much the story you see. Back then it was called The End Of The Universe. They were like, ‘That’s a little too spoilery.’

“They took me in to Ted Biaselli who is our boss at Netflix [Director of Original Series] and who was the passion behind this project. Ted grew up with MOTU, has every toy, still has them all displayed in his home. He’s like, ‘Look, I love Star Wars. I love Batman. But MOTU has always been my religion. When I watched that show as a kid, I thought He-Man was gonna get killed by Skeletor in every episode, I thought there was danger.

“And then I grew up and realised that was never going to happen. What I’m looking for from this is the same feeling I had when I was a kid. I want to feel there’s danger. I want to feel stakes. And I was like, ‘I think I could do that.’”

Biaselli was right alongside Smith “every step of the way”, giving him “immortal words” that made all the difference to how he approached the project. Namely: don’t mock it. “He said, ‘Just treat it like Shakespeare for once,’” says Smith, who jumped at the chance. “I could put lofty dialogue in the mouths of characters like Skeletor. He gives these ornate monologues, man… Words that I can’t normally write for Jay and Silent Bob and stuff.”

“What is this ‘Smile Direct Club’?”

Alongside Biaselli and David, Smith says they became “a three-headed brain trust”.

“I’ve never had a better time creating something,” he says with emotion. “Generally, I don’t work in the studio system or the corporate system, I’m kind of off by myself. Usually the people who are your bosses are nice, but give you stupid notes and shit.

Cringer’s been at the catnip again.

PICTURES © MATTEL/NETFLIX, GETTY

They’re people you have to get through, you feel like, in order to make something good. Not this time. If I could have these execs on everything, I’d go work in a corporate culture every day, and I’d wear a suit if they made me, if I could work with people who are as creative as the talent here.

"If I could have these execs on everything, I’d go work in a corporate culture every day"

“Oi, you! Yes, you. Wanna buy a used motor?”

THE BONES OF IT

Mark Hamill is Skeletor

What attracted you to the role of Skeletor?

I love challenges, and Skeletor is an iconic villain. I thought, “Boy, this is the kind of part that doesn’t get thrown your way that often.” And I have some history with Kevin Smith. Aside from being a fan of his, we did a film together in 2001 called Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and we just hit it off. I laughed non-stop filming that movie. Kevin is so easy to talk to. We’re both nerd boys, both fanboys, and so we had an instant bond. We’ve been friends ever since. I felt that if anybody could find a way to reinvent this material, it would be him.

You also voice the Joker, one of the most famous pop culture villains of all time. Do you think you have more fun playing the bad guy?

I think so. I do like playing heroes because the audience is rooting for you, but it’s really fun to play the opposite. Villains create chaos and uncertainty and they usually have really colourful backstories and interesting lines. In a way, hatred is as desirable an emotion from an audience as adoration, as long as you’re doing your job right. If you get to either end of that spectrum, you’re in the zone. And lucky me, I’ve been able to play both sides of that spectrum. The Joker doesn’t really think of himself as a villain. He’s a genius and he’s sort of shocked that people don’t recognise his greatness. Skeletor’s story is imbued with mystic elements and magic. But the interesting thing has been to try and find a way to voice Skeletor that is distinct from Joker. I can slip a little and I think, “Oh, that’s a little Joker-y, let’s go back and do it again,” because you try not to repeat yourself.

Were you a fan of the original He-Man series when it came out in 1983?

My boys, Nathan and Griffin, were little kids back then and they used to watch the show on television, so I would watch with them all the time. I got my son Nathan a big Castle Grayskull toy for Christmas with Battle Cat and all the figures. And I took them to New York to see the movie when it came out. This franchise has a significance in our lives, for sure.

What do you think long-time Masters Of The Universe fans will love about this show?

This show elicits the same sort of feelings you had for the original series, but the people working on it were kids then, so now they’re grown. This show is a little harder-edged. They’re writing up to the audience and stretching the demographics. When I watched the original, I could clearly see it was for kids. This iteration is more adventurous, it pushes the boundaries a little more, and will hopefully attract an audience of fans both old and new.