{"id":309023,"date":"2021-07-27T01:49:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T22:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/kevin-smith-on-masters-of-the-universe-and-fan-backlash\/"},"modified":"2021-07-27T01:49:01","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T22:49:01","slug":"kevin-smith-on-masters-of-the-universe-and-fan-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kevin-smith-on-masters-of-the-universe-and-fan-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"#Kevin Smith on ‘Masters of the Universe’ and fan backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Kevin Smith on ‘Masters of the Universe’ and fan backlash<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

He has the power.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kevin Smith said he was not expecting the outraged fan response<\/a> to his new Netflix series<\/a>, \u201cMasters of the Universe: Revelation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used the mythology that Mattel created,\u201d Smith, 50, told The Post on the phone from New Jersey, where he\u2019s currently preparing to film \u201cClerks III.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of an homage to every version of \u2018Masters of the Universe.\u2019 So I was like, \u2018When this comes out, fans are going to lose their s\u2013t!\u2019 And I was half-right. I\u2019ve watched fandoms get mad at creators before like Rian Johnson on \u2018The Last Jedi.\u2019 And heading into this I was like, \u2018I\u2019m not going to do that!\u2019 And yet, here we stand. So, you never know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first five episodes of Season 1 (the second half will be released at a later date) is a continuation of the classic \u201cHe-Man\u201d cartoon that ran in syndication from 1983-85 (and of the Mattel toy line, launched in 1982). It follows Prince Adam of the planet Eternia (voiced by Chris Wood), who has a secret identity as He-Man, and fights the evil Skeletor (Mark Hamill) while allying with the Captain of the Royal Guard, Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Teela
Teela (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar, left) and Evil-Lyn (voiced by Lena Headey, right) in \u201cMasters of the Universe: Revelation\u201d <\/figcaption>
COURTESY OF NETFLIX<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, in a twist, Adam is <\/a>out of commission for most of the first stretch of episodes while the show focuses on Teela as she tries to save the kingdom. The series premiered on Friday and, over the weekend, fans expressed their anger<\/a> on social media<\/a> with sentiments such as,<\/a> \u201cTerribly disapp<\/a>ointing. He-Man completely removed from his own show\u2026\u201d And \u201cWhy make a \u2018He-Man Show without He-Man? Shame!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not get into this business to upset anybody,\u201d said Smith. \u201cPeriodically throughout my career, I\u2019ve done things that have made people unhappy, [the 1999 film] \u2018Dogma\u2019 being the perfect example. This time, I think they\u2019re superfans who have their idea of what they were going to see and I guess we didn\u2019t match it, or they don\u2019t seem to process that the story is not over. I\u2019m not a disruptor, I\u2019m not a provocateur. So, it\u2019s a little disconcerting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"He-Ro
He-Ro (voiced by Phil Lamarr) in \u201cMasters of the Universe: Revelation.\u201d <\/figcaption>
COURTESY OF NETFLIX<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He\u2019s also baffled by some of the accusations that he tried to make the franchise \u201cwoke\u201d by focusing on Teela.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeela was one of the first figures launched [and] she\u2019s in every episode of the cartoon fighting right beside [He-Man],\u201d he said. \u201cSo I didn\u2019t bring anything to this where I\u2019m like, \u2018Man, watch this woke sh-t!\u2019 Some of the takes on it feel like the people haven\u2019t seen a movie or a TV show like, ever, in their lives. They seem to think that we have done irreversible things to some of their favorite characters\u2026We\u2019re halfway through a story. There is so much He-Man in the next five episodes. Ours is one long story cut up into chapters. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost audiences are too savvy to pull one over on. I assumed most people would be so far ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith cited the Superman comic, \u201cWorld Without a Superman\u201d as an inspiration, along with \u201cSuicide Squad\u201d creator Jon Ostrander\u2019s \u201cGrimjack\u201d<\/a> comic, in which the main character earns the afterlife but later gives it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Mattel initially approached Smith about helming this show, he was surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLook back at my career, what gives you any indication that I should be working on something like a kid\u2019s show?,\u201d he said. But while there\u2019s no immediate connection between the \u201cHe-Man\u201d franchise and Smith\u2019s irreverent films such as \u201cMallrats\u201d and \u201cChasing Amy,\u201d he\u2019s also written for comic franchises such as \u201cDaredevil\u201d and \u201cGreen Arrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had done those years ago, but I guess [Mattel] had re-read them recently. Once we started talking, I was like, \u2018This could be fun!\u2019 I know so much about \u2018Masters of the Universe.\u2019 Skeletor, who looks so badass in the [toy] commercials, runs around and never stabs anybody\u2026. So as a sardonic 12-year-old, I would watch every episode and rewrite it, like, \u2018They should do this!\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

High stakes such as the potential for real danger, \u201cNever happened in the \u2018He-Man\u2019 cartoon. But let\u2019s be honest, happened in the backyard of every child who had He-Man action figures,\u201d he said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t play their game<\/a> going, \u2018Well, we can\u2019t stab each other because of network rules, this is a children\u2019s show!\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, our show exists somewhere between people\u2019s memory of the TV show they grew up watching, and the reality of the imagination that they put into all the toys they ever played with.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n