After the cancellation of Masters of the Universe vs. The Snake Men cartoon and the discontinuation of the rebooted action figure line, it didn’t take long for He-Man get back up on his feet.
The final wave of “station figure” statuettes from NECA came out in 2007, just as Mattel was making its next announcement about the franchise. The Four Horsemen studio would be designing another line of figures, these ones modeled after the ’80s toys and the iconic Filmation cartoon. Though made to resemble the designs of the originals, the figures would come from all aspects of the varied He-Man franchise. The company promised toys from the comic books and minicomics, both He-Man and She-Ra cartoons from the ’80s, the less fondly remembered ’90s incarnation, and characters introduced in the different animated series who had never been turned into toys before. They would be made for the collectors’ market directly, no longer worrying about finding space on toy store shelves or winning over a new, jaded generation; they were selling directly to the pre-existing, hardcore fans. Fittingly, it was titled Masters of the Universe Classics.
The new line debuted at the San Diego Comic Convention in 2008, and the first offerings were old favorites He-Man and Beast Man, plus a figure of King Grayskull, a character only briefly seen in the 2002 cartoon. The new toys were better constructed and more minutely detailed, and had more points of articulation than the originals had. They were thoroughly modern while still appearing retro.
The Classics line was very successful in its more modest marketplace, and began releasing more figures each successive year. Mattel also followed through on its promise to release an eclectic group of characters. In 2009 they released the long-delayed toy of He-Ro, the Most Powerful Wizard in the Universe, from the aborted The Powers of Grayskull line. In 2015, there came another figure called He-Ro II, designed off of the sketches in the Lou Scheimer sequel series pitch, He-Ro, Son of He-Man, and the Masters of the Universe. Between those two were new editions of previously released characters like She-Ra and the Evil Mutant Slush Head, along with characters only seen in the minicomics, like Procrustus, the four-armed god who lives at Eternia’s planetary core, and Evilseed, who had been created for the Filmation cartoon.
Three of the previously released characters who received a new figure were from the Masters of the Universe film: Gwildor, Saurod, and Blade. The new editions more closely resembled the makeup and costumes featured in the film instead of the preproduction design sketches. The Classics figure of Blade, while still as absurdly muscular most of the He-Man characters, now had multiple movie accurate sword accessories and a laser whip. No matter how controversial the film remained in certain fan circles, it still had its place alongside the other incarnations.
The new Classics figures were also packaged with minicomics. The latest series was produced by Dark Horse Comics, a Portland-based publisher best known for comic books like Mike Allred’s Madman, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, and Frank Miller’s Sin City stories. The writer hired was Tim Seeley, the He-Man fan who’d been fascinated by watching the Masters film on the big screen.
After growing up reading the minicomics packaged with his He-Man figures, Seeley had been inspired and grew up to be a comics writer and artist. While making the horror comic Hack/Slash for Image Comics, he became friendly with editor Scott Allie. “He and I discovered mutual interests in all kinds of horror and crime stuff,” Seeley said, “with the one thing that we totally didn’t share being [Masters of the Universe]. It was kind of a joke even. When Dark Horse got hired to do the pack in minicomics for the new [Masters of the Universe] Classics figures, Scott called me right away, and my career came full circle!”1
Keeping with the throwback flavor of the new toy line, Seeley’s minicomics picked right up where the last ones had left off. They began with a retelling of “The Powers of Grayskull: The Legend Begins,” the final minicomic story of the original line. That original comic was labeled as the first of a three-part story, but the toys were canceled before the second or third could come out. In the new story, we again see He-Man traveling to Preternia to encounter the various Snake Men and cybernetic dinosaurs that would have been featured in the aborted toy line. The following stories would finally introduce He-Ro, He-Man’s wizard ancestor, and the other characters who would be featured in the Classics line.
These new Classics minicomics were as targeted at an older, collecting fan base as the toys were. The artwork and stories had become more sophisticated, and each minicomic was now intended to do more than showcase a new figure or advertise their special action feature. Seeley and the other creators used the pages to tie together the various continuities of Masters of the Universe, fill in plot holes or explain away long-dangling story threads or other unanswered questions. The franchise had evolved in a fascinating way, with the toys and minicomics being created for fans, by fans.
Mid-2016, Mattel announced the Masters of the Universe brand would be handed off to Super7, a company well known for retro kitsch like their vintage-style ReAction figures. To celebrate this massive change for the franchise, Super7 debuted “The Curse of the Three Terrors” at the San Diego Comic Con. It was a short cartoon, touted as the first new animation in the classic Filmation style since 1985.
“The Curse of the Three Terrors” was a quick, fun romp through Eternia’s Dark Hemisphere as Skeletor searched for yet another ultimate weapon to use against He-Man. It was made to look as much like the old cartoons as possible, utilizing the same music and iconic opening credits. As the ultimate tip of the hat to fans, original Skeletor voice actor Alan Oppenheimer returned to the role at 86 years of age.
In 2012, the rights for He-Man comic books returned to DC Comics. The company replaced Dark Horse as the producer of the minicomics and began telling new stories delving into the lore, namely the newest version of the origin of Skeletor. They also told the final battle of He-Man and Skeletor after their space-bound New Adventures arc, as the ’90s cartoon series ended without a climactic confrontation between the two. As with the Dark Horse material, the Classic minicomics filled in the holes in continuities to tie the canon together for the keen-eyed He-Man fans.
At the same time, DC brought Masters of the Universe back to full-sized comics as well. The company began cautiously: after a brief, weekly comic first released online to introduce readers to the revamped Eternia, a six-issue He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series followed. Once it concluded, the ongoing Masters of the Universe title lasted for 19 issues. The comic retold some of the more well-known stories, such as the discovery of She-Ra and the Horde, in greater depth and for a more mature palate. In the meanwhile, a separate miniseries brought the characters to the Earth of the mainstream DC Comics universe, allowing He-Man to once again battle Superman. There were also a series of one-shot comics exploring the origins of characters like He-Man and Hordak.
In 2014, this was followed by a new comic series called He-Man: The Eternity War, another ongoing series set in a grim, battle-sieged Eternia after the Horde capture Castle Grayskull and He-Man must lead a resistance.
Though typically thought of as a children’s property, many modern Masters stories have been keyed for an adult audience of former child-fans. There is also the ’80s kitsch nostalgia in play, as well, as t-shirts and other memorabilia are still made with their character’s Filmation look. He-Man based fan groups, websites, and conventions like Los Angeles’ Power-Con have all sprung up over the past few decades and continue to go strong.
In 2015, Dark Horse Books, an off-shoot of Dark Horse Comics, began releasing thick, hardcover tomes about the Masters of the Universe franchise. First came The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, full of illustrations and historical footnotes. It was compiled by Tim Seeley and his brother, Steve. A few months later saw the release of the first volume of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection. At well over one thousand pages, it contained all of the original minicomics from the Masters of the Universe line, the She-Ra line, the four made for the New Adventures figures, and the two for the 2002 reboot. Both books also contained interviews with creators. In 2016, they followed up with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures, which covered every episode of the Filmation He-Man and She-Ra series. A collection of the newspaper comic strips and a character guidebook were both announced for release in 2017.
With the years of fond memories built up in the fans, and all the recognition from a new generation thanks to jokes on shows like Robot Chicken and Family Guy, there has also been plenty of official talk and fan speculation about a new live-action film. The project has been kicked around Hollywood since the 2000s, trapped in a circle of so-called “Development Hell.” Mattel took the property to Sony to produce, and then moved it to Columbia Pictures. Directors like Jon M. Chu (GI Joe: Retaliation) have been attached and removed, and many talented writers, such as Chris Yost (Thor: The Dark World), have submitted screenplays which were ultimately discarded. Any advances on the project were tossed out when a new director came on board or a new creative approach was decided upon.
In early 2016, Columbia Pictures Senior Vice President DeVon Franklin announced the newest director attached was McG, the director responsible for the campy adaptations of the ’70s TV series Charlie’s Angels. This meant the latest script would require another rewrite. Still, interest in the remake was high, both for fans and actors. Both former American Gladiator Mike O’Hearn and The Legend of Hercules (2014) star Kellan Lutz began personal casting campaigns to be hired on as the newest He-Man.
As the 30th anniversary of the original live-action Masters of the Universe approaches, more interest is building and more audiences are eager to see He-Man and Skeletor on the big screen once again.
When the first Masters of the Universe movie was released, director Gary Goddard had already moved on to new projects. After its rocky preproduction, stressful production, and personally expensive postproduction, he had moved onto another project with Mattel. Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Goddard’s brainchild with Landmark Entertainment Group co-founder Tony Christopher, sought to push the boundary between television and action figures, making each episode of the live-action and computer-animated show interact with the toys the viewers at home were playing with. The toy line’s vehicles were equipped with sensors which reacted to the flashing laser blasts on the screen. He-Man and She-Ra alumni Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski wrote most of the series.
Goddard’s goal was to create something truly innovative with Captain Power. He succeeded at this goal, but that did not mean the show was accepted warmly. The same parents groups who complained about He-Man’s double-duty as toy advertisement did not approve of any programming that required a separately bought action figure to complete the experience. The show also came under fire for adult themes and storytelling. Episodes were built for longer story arcs, which was uncommon for 1987, and they also featured fascistic and post-apocalyptic imagery, mild swearing such as “Go to hell,” and implied sexual liaisons between characters. Such story elements were included to bridge a generational gap, for the parents of the target toy-buying audience to be entertained along with their children. Some parents, however, were horrified by the on-screen death of one of the Soldiers of the Future at the end of the 22-episode season.
After criticisms were leveled, many TV stations moved the show to a dumping ground timeslot, a block that was too early or too late to attract viewers, in order to burn through the remaining episodes. Without a highly visible show to promote them, the toy line tanked as well.
Captain Power maintained a small but loyal group of fans who appreciated the innovative approach and more mature stories. Goddard has remained a strong backer of the series, and after several years of working behind the scenes, in 2016 he announced the Captain Power concept would be returning in a new series called Phoenix Rising.
Still, Goddard never directed an episode of Captain Power. When asked if his experiences with Cannon during Masters of the Universe had put him off directing, he responded, “Not at all. I love directing. I love being in the thick of the battle and figuring out solutions. But I had a company then—and I left it for a year to make this film. When I came back, we had some major new projects in Japan and elsewhere, and for Universal Studios, too.”2
Business was picking up for the Landmark Group, and the company found itself designing attractions for theme parks and high-end resorts across the globe. This kept him moving within Hollywood circles, as he worked with Steven Spielberg to make the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride, among other partnerships. He directed many of the short films which were including in the roller coaster or theme park experiences, which led to him experimenting with the 3D format. He was involved in the making of T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, a well-received Universal Studios show. “I introduced [director James Cameron] to 3D film making during that project,” Goddard has said.3
Additionally, he has provided memorable design work for Caesar’s Palaces’ Forum Shops, and Star Trek: The Experience, both in Las Vegas. In 2002, Goddard split from Landmark Entertainment to form The Goddard Group. He has since designed more theme parks and resorts internationally, with a focus on the expanding markets of East Asia, such as the Macau region of China.
Goddard has returned to TV, creating the short-lived series Skeleton Warriors in 1994 and Mega Babies in 1999, and he has also made a splash on Broadway. He produced a one-night special Jesus Christ Superstar revival, featuring the stars of its movie adaptation, and earned a Tony Award for the 2009 revival of Hair. He got another nomination the same year for Reasons to be Pretty. He is keeping busy with the various projects in various media, he said, “But I would actually love to direct another film.”4
The Masters director has remained a proud supporter of his film, giving enthusiastic yet candid interviews about his experience with the project. He’s appeared for big screen presentations of the movie on many occasions to give an introduction and do question and answer sessions.
By 2012, the rights to the film belonged to Warner Brothers. Talk began about a special 25th anniversary edition Blu-Ray to replace the very early, minimalist DVD release from years before. Brand new special features were assembled, including a “Making of Masters of the Universe” video with on-screen interviews with Goddard, William Stout, and others. Goddard’s friend, X-Men director Bryan Singer, had agreed to moderate a new commentary track with Goddard and Frank Langella. However, after much of the new retrospective material had been finished, the Warner executives changed their minds. Perhaps uncertain such a release could recoup the costs of the new materials, a more bare-bones Blu-Ray was released. It featured the same extras that had been on the DVD, and the picture had not been much improved for the new format. Goddard, and many He-Man fans, expressed disappointment.
The company that made Masters of the Universe, Cannon Films, didn’t survive its release.
The failure of the He-Man film and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace are generally regarded as the one-two punch that finally brought the studio down. Neither brought in the kind of money Golan and Globus needed, especially the “Star Wars of the ’80s” level money Masters was optimistically predicted to generate. They’d made too many box office bombs, especially with too high of budgets, to get away with hiding the failure anymore. Bankruptcy was right around the corner, but they limped onward.
In 1987, Cannon began selling off the film library they’d amassed to pay off some of their debt. Their films continued to be produced and released, but the scrappy company had become desperate, hurrying out their Cannon Movie Tales fairy stories and violent Chuck Norris vehicles, all with lower production values than before. Here and there, Golan and Globus would turn a small profit, namely with cheaply made Jean Claude Van Damme actioners like Bloodsport and Kickboxer, but it was nothing to turn back the company’s downward slide.
Cannon was eventually taken over by wealthy Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti for the sum of $200 million. This was all part of a scheme by Parretti to appear savvy enough in the ways of filmmaking to buy the famed French studio Pathé. So confident was Parretti that he changed the name of Cannon Film Group, Inc. to Pathé Communications in anticipation of the larger purchase. But this scheme fell apart when the French government reportedly found some unsavory details in his murky past; like Golan and Globus, the origins of much of Parretti’s money was difficult to trace.
He was hounded by rumors of Mafia ties in Europe, and these soon followed him to America as well. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times from 1990, “Parretti issued a statement to denounce a story in Business Week magazine that said he had indirect ties to at least one Mafia family and that accused him and Pathé Chairman Florio Fiorini of money laundering through a network of private foreign holding companies.”5
Blocked from acquiring the actual, historically prestigious Pathé studio, Parretti instead borrowed well over $1 billion from international banks to purchase MGM, one of the largest American studios at the time. They were then merged with his own Pathé, Pathé Communications. He kept the Cannon group together to utilize their distribution network and churn out some more quick, cheap films.
Menahem Golan had met his match in the shady profiteer. Parretti pushed down hard on the company, forcing painful spending cuts and restructuring the company to begin paying off Cannon’s various debts. Under the strain of money troubles, Golan quarreled with Parretti and even his cousin, Yoram Globus. He would leave the company in 1989 to form his own studio, the 21st Century Film Corporation, and continue making his own brand of low-budget thrillers, like Death Wish V: The Face of Death and Albert Pyun’s Marvel Comics adaptation Captain America. Globus’s newly formed Cannon Pictures countered this with films like American Ninja 4: The Annihilation and Delta Force 3: The Killing Game.
Perhaps the strangest thing to come out of the Golan-Globus split was their dueling dance movies. Both cousins wanted to make a quick flick to cash in on the Lambada dance craze, and knowing how briefly such fads would last, the producers put their own projects together almost overnight. Globus’s movie was titled Lambada, so the copyright on the word was snatched up. Golan was forced to call his The Forbidden Dance. They were released the same day in 1990, cannibalizing each other’s ticket sales. Neither film was well received, nor made any real profit.6
Parretti, meanwhile, was overseeing his MGM-Pathé Communications empire and doing little else. Under his management, MGM released almost no films and money problems began to mount. Checks were bouncing. Others, from staffers to film laboratories and even Sean Connery, were not being paid at all. The conglomerate’s loans were beginning to default.
Within a year of Parretti’s power-play, MGM-Pathé was in U.S. bankruptcy court. As the company circled bankruptcy, Parretti’s own banking contacts refused to loan more money until he was removed from power. Shortly thereafter, he was facing fraud charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the French government charged him with defrauding Credit Lyonnais, the national bank. “Parretti also was indicted by a Delaware grand jury in 1992 on perjury and evidence tampering charges related to the Credit Lyonnais dispute.”7 He fled the United States before he could be charged, or extradited to France to face other charges.
MGM retained control of Globus’s Cannon Pictures, which went out of business in 1994. The 21st Century Film Corporation went bankrupt the same year. The cousins would later reunite and bury the hatchet over, what else, making more movies together.
The impact of Cannon Films was not forgotten in Hollywood, or in the minds of filmgoers. The company served as a cautionary tale for other studios, warning of the dangers of over-expanding and over-leveraging, and also provided dozens of new favorite movies for a generation of cult movie watchers. In 2014, Australian director Mark Hartley began putting together a documentary called Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films. Golan and Globus refused to participate, reportedly telling Hartley they were making their own documentary. In true Cannon fashion, The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films was released the same year. It debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, of course.
After Masters of the Universe, production designer William Stout stayed busy in Hollywood and beyond. The same year the film was released, he was hired on by Walt Disney Imagineering to design Disneyland attractions at different locations across the globe. Other theme parks he contributed to include Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure and Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
With a growing reputation in the worlds of design and cartooning, Stout was also able to begin focusing on projects that personally interested him more.
One such interest was dinosaurs and paleontological art. His artwork was included in a traveling exhibition of paleoart, and was displayed in locations such as the Smithsonian and the British Museum. He served as designer for the animated Dino-Riders series, based on the toy line, and for Hanna-Barbera’s short-lived Dink, the Little Dinosaur show. In 1993, he was hired by Universal Cartoon Studios to design an animated series spinning off of the popular Jurassic Park film. After extensive preproduction and a finished trailer showcasing what the series would be like, producer Steven Spielberg canceled the project before he could even watch it.
“I’m also very, very proud of my mural work that accurately depicts the pantheon of early prehistoric life,” Stout said. “I’ve created nineteen public murals of this type so far. You can see them at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Zoo, the Houston Museum of Natural Science and at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom.”8
Stout has illustrated children’s books, including several Oz titles and his award-winning work on Richard Matheson’s Abu & The 7 Marvels. Back on the big screen, he did design work for animated movies like Dinosaur (2000) and The Ant Bully (2006), and live-action and CGI creatures in Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and director Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novella The Mist (2007).
He has also received recognition, and a grant, from the National Science Foundation for his paintings made after traveling to Antarctica. In 1992, Stout spent the summer in the Antarctic Artists and Writers Program observing nature and wildlife for a new series of paintings. He has spoken proudly of his work concerning the Antarctic, stating he is “adding to the movement to make Antarctica the first World Park and protect it forever.”9
Stout has received numerous awards for his work in cartooning and design throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and up to the mid–2000s. He remained close friends with Jean “Moebius” Giraud until the French artist’s death in 2012.
Initially, Dolph Lundgren did not speak fondly of his experiences making Masters of the Universe. In the next few years after its release, he would complain to interviewers about the long night shoots in Whittier, California, and the disorganization of Cannon Films. “Playing He-Man was pretty much my lowest point as an actor,” he said in 1989, when he’d gotten a few more films under his belt.10
The burgeoning action star followed up Masters with another troubled production, Red Scorpion, the next year. Next he portrayed the title character in an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ The Punisher (1989) Throughout the ’90s, he played the lead in lower budget action and sci-fi movies, along with memorable turns in ensemble films like Universal Soldier (1992) and Johnny Mnemonic (1995).
Still, to most audiences he would always be Ivan Drago, the nearly unstoppable Russian boxer from Rocky IV. This role, more than Masters or anything else, welcomed him into an upper echelon of ’80s and ’90s action stars. His name would come up in conversations alongside actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Work was constant, but as the years progressed, his films were given much smaller theatrical releases, then sent directly to video. In the mid–2000s, Lundgren began directing. He worked behind the camera as well as in front for films like The Defender (2004) and Icarus (2010), and even provided the scripts for other actor/director projects like Missionary Man (2007) and Command Performance (2009). Although these films were released direct-to-video and not particularly celebrated, they allowed Lundgren to branch out creatively.
With ’80s nostalgia picking up steam in the latter half of the 2000s, the actor returned to the Universal Soldier franchise alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. 2010 held a turning point, as Lundgren played Gunner Jensen in The Expendables. The film was a tribute to ’80s and ’90s action movies, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, and featured other action stars like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lundgren was given one of the meatier roles in the project: the character of Jensen is an aging mercenary with a drug addiction. He betrays the Expendables team and fights with the characters played by Stallone and martial artist Jet Li. After appearing to die, Jensen then reappears at the end of the film, recovering, sober, and back on the side of the good guys. In an ensemble film with such a large cast, he was given more to do than most.
The Expendables received mixed reviews but killed at the box office. It was Lundgren’s first widely released theatrical film in 15 years, and one of the biggest successes of his career. He returned for the film’s two sequels in 2012 and 2014, both of which grossed even more money.
Though hailed as the beginning of a career renaissance, Lundgren seemed content to return to the world of smaller budget movies where he could have more creative control. He has continued to direct and write his films occasionally, and moved into the world of producing as well.
Time has changed the way the star viewed his time making Masters of the Universe. As there were more rumors about the next He-Man film, interviewers would ask Lundgren again about his experiences, or if he’d been approached to reprise the role. On the circuit promising The Expendables 2 in 2012, he admitted he’d had fun the first time around. He was still not a fan of the exposing outfit He-Man would require, but expressed an openness to taking another role. “I think He-Man is a cool character, and I had fun doing [the movie],” he told one interviewer. “I’d rather play the king. But yeah, good idea. All of these old superheroes are coming back, and I’m sure that’s one that people could enjoy.”11
Boosted by his appearance in The Expendables series, he has become more of a public figure and fitness celebrity, releasing an autobiography/fitness book called Train Like an Action Hero: Be Fit Forever, and giving interviews to explain his dietary and exercise practices.
Even when not on the big screen like other name brand action heroes, Lundgren has remained well within the public consciousness. This is no more apparent than in a frightening scenario from 2009: British tabloid The Daily Mail reported on an attempted home invasion in Lundgren’s family’s home in Marbella, Spain. While the actor was away filming, three masked men snuck in and tied up his wife, jewelry designer Anette Qviberg. While threatening her at knifepoint, the men spotted a family photo including the actor who still very much possessed a He-Manly set of muscles. They immediately fled the scene.12
After his turn as Skeletor, Frank Langella’s career became even more varied than before. In addition to his work both on and off-Broadway, he played in highbrow comedies like Dave, lowbrow adventure like Cutthroat Island, and even in alien makeup for a multi-episode arc on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He did small parts in TV movies on children’s networks, and appeared in short-lived sitcoms. While not every project he was involved with was well received by audiences or critics, Langella was always seen as a reliable, hard-working, and talented character actor who added a bit of class to anything he touched.
He won his second Tony Award in 2002 for the play Fortune’s Fool, and was nominated again two years later for Match. In 2005, he was cast in George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck. The serious period piece was nominated for several awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Starting Out in the Evening, a quiet, somber adaptation of Brian Morton’s novel, won Langella more acclaim in 2007. It earned him a Best Actor Award from the Boston Society of Film Critics, along with nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards and several others. That same year he won his third Tony for his role former president Richard Nixon in the play Frost/Nixon. He and costar Michael Sheen reprised the roles the next year in Ron Howard’s film adaptation of the play. The big screen version of Frost/Nixon brought him a flurry of new award nominations, including one for Best Actor from the Academy Awards.
With the recognition and stature his career had been steadily gaining, Langella was occasionally asked about his role in Masters of the Universe. Interviewers phrased their questions to demean the film as pure camp or cheese, but the actor would have none of it. In 2008, while being interviewed by USA Today about Frost/Nixon, Langella proudly said: “I loved playing Skeletor, and people sometimes say, ‘Aren’t you embarrassed?’ Not in the least! I loved my performance in that. I worked very hard to make him as exciting as I could. It was a great paycheck. But it was also delicious.”13
Though he did not win the coveted Oscar, Langella’s success continued in his various roles. He received another Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 2009’s The Box, and another Tony nomination for Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Man and Boy in 2012. In the 2010s he was involved in projects as diverse as Muppet’s Most Wanted (2014) and the gritty FX drama series The Americans. While promoting the independent sci-fi movie Robot & Frank in 2012, he was asked again his role in Masters of the Universe.
After acknowledging that playing Skeletor introduced him to a whole generation of filmgoers, he smiled. “It’s one of my very favorite parts.”14
Evil-Lyn was the first of many memorable sci-fi/fantasy roles for Meg Foster. After Masters, she would appear would appear prominently in genre films like Leviathan (1989) and Blind Fury (1989), and into the ’90s in Full Moon Entertainment pictures like Shrunken Heads (1994), the space-western Oblivion (1994) and its 1996 sequel. Though the films were often mere B-movies, Foster’s icy on-screen demeanor and icier blue eyes constantly made her stand out. Her unique look, along with a turn in John Carpenter’s outrageous 1988 film They Live, ensured her status as a cult movie icon. Though her career began to dry up at the turn of the century, things picked up again in the 2010s. She was cast in two musician-turned-director Rob Zombie films, The Lords of Salem (2012) and 31 (2015).
After portraying Blade and acting as the film’s fight coordinator, Anthony De Longis has enjoyed a long and varied career in front of and behind the camera. He played more evil henchman, such as opposite Patrick Swayze in Road House (1989), and displayed his expertise with a sword in appearances on the TV series Highlander. He was often called upon to lend realism to cinema, such as choreographing bare knuckle boxing matches for Tom Cruise in Far and Away (1992), in which he was also featured as one of the fighters. Despite the SFX added for Masters, his skill with a whip gained even more renown in the industry. He was called in to teach Michelle Pfeiffer how to handle a bullwhip for her role as Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992), and to freshen up Harrison Ford’s abilities before he filmed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Toward the mid–2000s, De Longis moved away from acting and choreographing to focus on voice acting. His voice work appeared in video games like Red Dead Redemption and Bulletstorm. He also became a go-to expert for historically accurate weapons and fighting techniques: De Longis appeared on shows like Mythbusters and Deadliest Warrior, and demonstrated how comic book superhero Green Arrow’s signature boxing glove arrow might work on DC Nation. He kept both prop swords from his time as Blade, and donated one to a charity auction in the late 2000s.
The same year as he was Gwildor, Billy Barty appeared in two Cannon Movie Tales, Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White. He had a special appearance in Ron Howard and George Lucas’s fantasy epic Willow the next year, and then carried on making guest appearances on TV shows or taking bit parts in movies. Barty appeared more sporadically as the ’90s progressed and his health declined. He passed away from heart failure in 2000.
The last episode of Hill Street Blues aired some months before Masters of the Universe debuted. With his longest-lasting and most recognizable role behind him, and no sign of a sequel for Man-At-Arms, Jon Cypher began popping up in TV movies and guest spots on various shows. His next most prominent and career-defining part came in the form of General Marcus Craig on the family comedy series Major Dad. Cypher appeared in a majority of the show’s episodes. After a brief foray into voice acting for the Batman Beyond cartoon, the hard-working character actor finally allowed himself to retire.
The role of Teela was Chelsea Field’s big break into acting, and though Masters didn’t exactly take off at the box office, it gave her plenty of momentum for her new career. She was cast in prominent roles for horror movies like Prison (1988) and Dust Devil (1993), along with high profile turns in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) and The Last Boy Scout (1991). In the mid–’90s, Field began to transition into more mature, motherly roles in family-friendly movies; she appeared in the films Andre (1994) and Flipper (1996), which were both about a child’s adventures with an aquatic mammal. She has acted less since 1996, when she married former Quantum Leap star Scott Bakula. They have two children together.
As for our Earthlings, James Tolkan returned to his most famous role as Principal Strickland in Back to the Future Part II in 1989, and as that character’s ancestor in Part III the next year. He continued to play to his strengths as a hardnosed, authoritarian figure throughout the late ’80s and ’90s in appearances on TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Wonder Years. In 2001, he appeared as a regular cast member on the award-winning A Nero Wolfe Mystery series on A&E. He also directed two episodes. Tolkan has popped up in films periodically since the ’90s, including 2015’s indie western Bone Tomahawk.
After his time on the big screen as Kevin Corrigan in Masters of the Universe, Robert Duncan McNeill found better luck on television. He made some guest appearances on shows like Quantum Leap and Murder, She Wrote, and multi-episode arcs on Homefront and Second Chances, before becoming a regular on the medical drama Going to Extremes. It lasted less than one season. In 1992, McNeill was cast as a young cadet on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Having suitably impressed producers, he would return to the franchise in 1995 when he was cast as a different character, Tom Paris, on Star Trek: Voyager. He was a regular cast member for the show’s full seven seasons, becoming well known and respected by the Trekkie community. He also shared the screen for several episodes with his Masters costar, Anthony De Longis. McNeill used his lengthy run on the sci-fi series to expand his talents behind the camera: he began directing, writing, and producing. He has become a prolific and sought after TV director, helming episodes of series like Dawson’s Creek, Supernatural, and Chuck.
Courtney Cox’s star was on the rise, and the initial box office disappointment of Masters of the Universe did nothing to slow it. After her role as “American Everygirl” Julie Winston, she was hired a recurring character on Family Ties, appearing opposite Michael J. Fox for over 20 episodes in the show’s sixth and seventh seasons. Along with guest spots on TV shows and appearing in TV movies, she returned to the big screen for films like Cocoon: The Return (1988). 1994 proved to be a big year for the actress, as she played the love interest in the breakout Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, while on the small screen she was a girlfriend-of-the-week on Seinfeld, and debuted in her best-known role as Monica Geller on Friends. Throughout that hit sitcom’s 10-year run, she would also host Saturday Night Live, and star in the horror-satire Scream (1996) and its two sequels. Once Friends ended, Cox became a regular in the short-lived tabloid drama Dirt, and produced and starred in the cult favorite sitcom Cougar Town. Since the mid–’90s, she’s been nominated for dozens of awards, including People’s Choice, Teen Choice, and the Golden Globes.
Christina Pickles, the live-action Sorceress of Grayskull, finished out her run on the celebrated TV drama St. Elsewhere. The year Masters was released, she was nominated for her fourth Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for the series. The next year, the show’s last, she’d get her fifth. Pickles continued to bring her calm, quiet dignity to appearances on TV shows like Matlock and Roseanne, and in films like Legends of the Fall (1994) and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996). She was reunited with Courtney Cox on Friends, playing her former costar’s mother. She appeared as Judy Geller in 19 episodes over the ten-year span, earning another Emmy nomination for the episode “The One Where Nana Dies Twice.” After popping up in sporadic TV roles throughout the 2000s, Pickles has moved into voice acting, frequently on the Public Radio International program Selected Shorts.
Lou Scheimer Productions never managed to take off the way Filmation had. The aging cartoonist put together short features and pitched many ideas to other companies, but almost nothing was released. Into the late ’90s, his health became more of a concern. After undergoing heart surgery, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He passed away in 2013, just days before his 85th birthday.
Scheimer was mourned throughout the world of animation. While best known for the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons which impacted the childhoods of so many, he was still remembered for his work on Star Trek: The Animated Series, The Archie Show, and for the boundaries broken by an all African American cast of characters on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He was also noted as the last great holdout against outsourcing American animation jobs to cheaper countries. Although the quality of Filmation’s products is not remembered fondly, the man and the characters he brought to life are.
Roger Sweet left the Masters of the Universe design group but stayed on at Mattel for some time. He received his severance and left in 1991. Feeling burnt out from the industry, he moved to the Pacific Northwest and never returned to work in the world of action figures.
In the early 2010s, Sweet was approached by filmmakers Roger Lay, Jr., and Corey Landis for their documentary, Toy Masters. He agreed to tell his side of the story and explain what he had been positing for years: that he was the sole creator of the Masters of the Universe concept. After speaking with Lay and Landis, Sweet reportedly became difficult to work with. He stopped returning their calls and emails.
The former toymaker’s argument is explained in Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Sweet co-wrote the book, which operated as an autobiography, a tell-all, and platform for his claim. The book brings across Sweet’s unique voice and the intercompany politics quite well, but it had no silver bullet to settle the dispute of He-Man’s origin. Though some common inspirations can be inferred for both Sweet and Mark Taylor, much of the beginnings of Masters of the Universe still falls to a word-versus-word argument.
He-Man, like his fellow Masters of the Universe and their shared world of Eternia, is a concept that struck hard, capturing the dreams and imaginations of a generation and never letting them go. It has reverberated outward, through the decades and across different forms of entertainment. It connected the way few toys, TV shows, and movies do. But even those involved with its creation have a hard time placing their finger on what made it the success it is. Many of them have gone as far as to call it luck.
After interviewing former Mattel executives along with Sweet and Taylor, Toy Masters’s Corey Landis said, “It’s like taking a number one song and asking why it was such a hit. The melody was just so, the chord structure was just so, etc. It just hit the right notes, at the right time.”15 He-Man happened because the world was ready for He-Man. If the toy had debuted a few months earlier, or a few months later, it may not have worked. The same could be said of the Filmation series. If another media franchise had beaten He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to the air, the series may not have commanded the same sense of originality or novelty. If it had debuted any sooner, it would have likely been slapped down by the FCC.
The sense of design in the characters and their world are also cited for that certain special something. The mixture of science-fiction and fantasy elements opened the franchise up wider than most concepts, making a universe of play where anything in a child’s imagination was possible. Another thing that set the figures apart from their competition was the overly muscled sculpts, grimacing facial expressions, and squat, battle-ready positions. This brought the proportions of Frank Frazetta warriors and comic book superheroes to 3D, letting children act out their power fantasies.
The characters themselves were also crafted in broad enough strokes that, while the minicomics, storybooks, and cartoons were a fun extension, the explanation they provided were hardly necessary. Tim Seeley remembered getting his first Masters of the Universe figures, saying, “I instantly understood, in my 5-year-old mind, who was who, and what they did, and whether they were good or bad.”16
Playing off such archetypes connected He-Man, Skeletor, and the secrets of Castle Grayskull to the larger, timeless world of mythology. “People from all walks of life and cultures have responded favorably to heroes,” William Stout explained. “They’ve loved tales of good vs. evil ever since storytelling began.”17 Mattel’s concern for keeping things “generic” in the line’s early days bestowed, perhaps inadvertently, a mythic element to the toys. Combined with the story elements developed by the Filmation cartoon, namely the secret identity of young and uncertain Prince Adam, pushed the franchise even deeper into the time-tested tropes of the Campbellian “Hero with a Thousand Faces” story structure.
The loose, yet inherently recognizable design and characterizations also gave the franchise an elasticity. The toys could be shifted from medium to medium across a variety of styles. They could be updated to remain contemporary and still maintain the same sense of the characters. Stories from the minicomics could be retold as cartoon episodes. Small details or entire backstories and motivations could be altered, even the visuals tweaked as needed, and it would make no real difference overall. The Skeletor of the toys was the same as the Skeletor of the minicomics, the cartoon, the live-action film, and the imagination of the audience.
And He-Man? Everybody knows He-Man.
The brawny, blond barbarian of the magical, sci-fi world came pre-packaged as the perfect hero. He was born standing on the shoulders of the greats that came before him, from John Carter of Mars and Flash Gordon, to Conan the Barbarian and Tarzan of the Apes, to Superman and Captain Marvel. He condensed what worked before him into something timeless and instantly recognizable. He was as simple as his name, He-Man, a symbol of power and masculinity and the boundless imaginations of children across the world. That classic sense of his character, the simplicity of his mission, and the nobility of his cause have all kept him in the public’s periphery even during the wilderness years between TV series or their next reboot.
His timeless nature is what has aided in the varied adaptations and translations, from toys to comics to cartoons and live-action. Big audiences will always want a super-strong hero with a pure heart. They will always respond to magic swords and spaceships and Battle Cats and skull-faced despots who are bested each and every time. He-Man will always be looked to because nobody else has ever done what he does quite as well. Even those who have never seen the Filmation cartoon or played with the original toys know who he is, so the building clamor to bring him back to the big screen hasn’t surprised anyone.
As much as the Masters of the Universe franchise is looking forward now, it’s important to not forget the past. That brand name has earned its rightful spot in history, even if that spot is not always recognized; it is fondly remembered as the first to leap the chasm between the toy store aisles and the television screens, but Goddard’s 1987 film is often overlooked. Time has been good to the film, and many are viewing it more favorably after the distance of 30 years and the comparisons of less faithful Transformers and GI Joe adaptations, but it is still left out of the chain of events.
Regardless of quality or reception or casting or anything else, Masters of the Universe is important to the evolution of cross-media franchises. It is a cornerstone to the foundations of what audiences have grown to expect. It showed the entertainment industry how things could work, even if the lesson didn’t sink in for 20 more years. The film is an important, even pivotal, link in the chain.
After all this time, it still has the power.