Swords n Stuff

Eternia could be on its way to the big screen once again, as the Masters of the Universe movie has taken another step forward in the production process with the hiring of writer Christopher Yost. Yost made some contributions to the first two Thor scripts and impressed enough to earn the co-writer title with Craig Kyle for Thor: Ragnarok. He will be rewriting the script written last year by Jeff Wadlow, the writer of Kick-Ass 2.

The Masters of the Universe movie has been in the works for years, with various writers and directors being either attached or rumored to be attached to the project. DeVon Franklin, the Senior Vice President for Columbia, has been one of the better sources of information and updates on all things Eternia. Franklin tweeted the front page of the script written by Wadlow when he received it on Christmas Eve, and when a fan tweeted about his belief that a Masters of the Universe movie could sell, Franklin replied with some downright sexy Battlecat concept art. It seems as though they may be aiming for an epic retelling this time around, or at least something more epic than the previous cinematic venture into Eternia, which many would agree would have been better if most of the story had actually taken place in Eternia.

The original Masters of the Universe movie, released in 1987, is not a bad movie per sé, but many fans were disappointed about a few artistic choices that were made with the script. The movie starts off in Eternia after some grandiose battle that we just happened to miss, probably due to budget restraints. Skeletor was victorious and is taking control of Castle Grayskull, as He-Man, Man-at-Arms, and Teela are about to make their final push. They bump into Gwildor, who has built a key that grants its wielder inter-dimensional transport. Together they bring the fight to Skeletor but are bested, and Gwildor opens a portal to a random time and place in order to escape. Trapped in 1980s America, the group is tasked to fix their broken key to get back to the battle (with the help of a young Courteney Cox and her boyfriend). Skeletor has a key as well and sends henchmen to take care of He-Man and friends. Chaos and violence ensue.
Any movie based off of a comic book or cartoon is going to have its gripes with the fans, and the 1987 masters of the universe movie is no different. The movie mostly takes place in America instead of Eternia, He-Man is using a gun through most of the battles in the movie(as you can probably tell by the sleeve art), and we missed a huge battle where it seems as if most of the good people of Eternia have fallen before the movie even began. These are major inconsistencies, but the movie is not without merit. Dolph Lundgren pulls off He-Man like very few could. Frank Langella’s Skeletor is the highlight of the movie, as his acting is spot-on, his make-up is the best in the movie, and he steals the show whenever he’s on-screen. Gwildor is much less annoying in place of Orko(presumably a casualty of war) as the comic relief, and there is no mention of Prince Adam, ever. The violence rarely wavers in Masters of the Universe, as it is an 80s action movie, and  as an action/fantasy movie it rises to the task. Some have even called it the Star Wars of the 80s. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check out the 25th anniversary BluRay edition here.

What did you think of the original Masters of the Universe movie? Who should be cast as the next He-Man? Who should direct? Please don’t say Micheal Bay! Leave your comments and suggestions below!