'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' Reboot Looks Totally Different, and Fans Are Weighing In

Fans finally got their first look at Netflix's He-Man: Masters of the Universe revival this week, [...]

By Michael Hein

Fans finally got their first look at Netflix's He-Man: Masters of the Universe revival this week, and not everyone loved what they saw. Teaser images from the show reveal a new animation style with far more detail and a different style. While many are excited to see the show taken in a new direction, others worry that changes will not serve their beloved franchise well.

Netflix revealed images from Masters of the Universe: Revelation on Thursday, along with the show's premiere date — July 23. It's hard to tell from the still images but according to a report by Deadline, the show will be animated in a CG style, which is unpopular with many classic animation fans. Filmmaker Kevin Smith serves as showrunner on this series, and he said that it would pick up immediately after the last episode of the original series. That means it starts after a cataclysmic battle between He-Man and Skeletor, with Eternia fractured and the Guardians of Grayskull scattered.

The show has a promising voice cast, including Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Chris Wood as Prince Adam/He-Man and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, who drives much of the action in the beginning. It also stars Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Henry Rollins, Alicia Silverstone, Justin Long, Jason Mewes, Phil LaMarr, Tony Todd, Cree Summer, Kevin Michael Richardson and Kevin Conroy.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation hits Netflix on Friday, July 23. Here is a look at the first teaser images and what fans had to say about them.

Poor Imitation

Some classic animation fans have already made up their minds about this reboot, in some cases judging it based on the other, similar revivals that have come from Netflix so far.

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Epic

Others were more positive, feeling that the increased budget compared to the original series would serve the scope of the franchise well.

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Style

Fans debated whether the animation was qualitatively "better" than the original cartoon, or if it had a distinct new style in addition to new technology. Some compared it to Japanese anime.

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'Nit-Picking'

Many fans were self-aware in their dissections of these screen shots, admitting that it was not enough to make up their minds about the show on yet. Still, they couldn't help analyzing details and sharing observations.

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She-Ra

This revival called to mind the short-lived She-Ra revival on Netflix for many fans, who were still bitter about its swift cancellation.

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Transformation

Fans also praised the depiction of Prince Adam's transformation in size when he becomes He-Man, feeling that this makes more sense than the original series. They approved of this retcon but couldn't resist commenting on it.

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Rating

Finally, many fans are eager to see the rating attached to this series to determine how dark its themes will be. Some debated whether the show should be appropriate for children or if it should play to its nostalgic adult audience.

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