Another new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated show is coming to Netflix, this time with CG and a fresh, contemporary appeal.
Netflix and Mattel Television are co-producing a new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series. Originally airing from 1983 to 1985 and consisting of two sixty-five episode seasons, the first iteration of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was repeatedly shown on various networks in syndication before the rights to the show were bought by USA Network, who continued to run the series until 1990.
Netflix has slowly been rebooting a number of classic animated shows from the 1980's and 1990's. As more and more contemporary shows and movies leave their service to join the streaming service umbrellas of their original franchise holders, Netflix is looking backwards to shows like Invader Zim and the recently-announced revival of Rocko's Modern Life. Now, it seems like the streaming giant is looking even farther back into their catalog for something new to bring to the television table in order to compete with companies like Disney and Hulu.
According to Deadline, Netflix will be teaming up with Mattel Television in order to create a new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show. Unlike the original, which featured hand-drawn animations, this new Netflix He-Man show will be entirely CG, and is said to offer a re-imagined, fresh take on the classic battles between He-Man and Skeletor. The show is off to a strong start, with multiple members of He-Man's production team having worked on other popular animated series like Batman Beyond and TMNT.
Mattel's Senior Vice President of Content Distribution and Business Development, Fred Soulie, spoke briefly about how the new series would try to retain a contemporary appeal while also satisfying longtime He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series fans. He said, "Masters of the Universe is one of the most iconic global franchises of all time," and that Mattel's entire team was very excited to "re-imagine the classic characters in a way that appeals to kids and families today, while also resonating with the fans who grew up with them."
This isn't even the only He-Man animated series currently in production, as Kevin Smith also recently announced he would be teaming up with Mattel to produce an anime series based on the He-Man universe called Masters of the Universe: Revelation. With two different shows set to come out, a current comic book series, and an ever-lasting existence in the public consciousness thanks to the overarching presence of Skeletor memes, it's clear that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is not only back, but the popularity and power of Greyskull has only begun to grow.
