“Masters of the Universe” brings He-Man to life for a new generation, and director Travis Knight is taking this responsibility seriously.
“It is very personal to so many people,” Knight told Space. “He-Man has been around for over 40 years; it’s a huge part of many people’s childhood, including myself.”
“You always feel pressure when you’re doing something like this,” Knight added. With his lifelong connection to He-Man and understanding of this film’s importance, Knight takes on making the first He-Man movie since the 1980s.
He-Man began in the early 1980s as a character created by Mark Taylor for Mattel, which sold He-Man action figures packaged with mini-comics as part of a “Masters of the Universe” toy series.
The figurines were an instant phenomenon, and, over the decades, the He-Man-verse grew with comics, an incredibly popular animated television show, a live-action movie, and more.
Related: The weird origins of He-Man, Skeletor, and the ‘Masters of the Universe’
From action figures to the big screen, He-Man has never been just one thing. And that multi-faceted nature extends to the genre as well. While the original action figure might at first glance look like a classic cartoon barbarian, the character and his world are a wild blend of science fiction, fantasy, action-adventure, and even comedy.
“It’s action, it’s drama, it’s comedy, it’s something with incredible heart. It’s got spectacle,” Knight said. “It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, because these things can very easily become like a bunch of scraps of crazy quilts sewn together.”
But despite the challenge of balancing fan expectations with the many different layers of He-Man, Knight is pleased with the outcome. But it isn’t the big action or the mesmerizing sci-fi fantasy elements that Knight sees as the shining jewel of the film. It’s the heart.
“I’m very, very proud of the balance that we struck,” Knight said. “At the heart, it’s just a really fun, joyful adventure. But it does have a real, emotional core out of it, a core at the center of the movie, which is the thing I’m most proud of. I think the movie has tremendous heart.”
And the fan that Knight was the most eager to please with this film? His eight-year-old self.
“My North Star, my compass was about trying to please the eight-year-old version of myself who discovered He-Man for the first time, and whose little tiny mind was blown out of the back of his head. That’s the child that I wanted to make happy with this movie.”
“I remember what was so unique and so special about it. I remember why I loved it, and I wanted to make sure that this film would have made that kid happy, and I think it would have,” Knight added.
“Masters of the Universe” is set to be released in theaters on June 5.
