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Masters of the Universe (1987 film)

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Template:Infobox film Masters of the Universe (stylized as Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture) is a 1987 American sword and sorcery film based on the Masters of the Universe franchise by Mattel. The film was directed by Gary Goddard, produced by Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan, and written by David Odell. It stars Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courteney Cox, James Tolkan, Christina Pickles, and Meg Foster with supporting roles by Billy Barty, Jon Cypher, Chelsea Field, and Robert Duncan McNeill. The film follows two teenagers who meet He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, who travels to Earth with his friends, Man-At-Arms and Teela, to stop their archenemy, the evil Skeletor from obtaining a cosmic key that will enable him to take over their home planet Eternia and the entire universe.

While it is the first live action movie in the franchise, the very first He-Man/Masters of The Universe movie was the animated He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, released in theaters nationwide two years earlier in 1985.

Masters of the Universe was released theatrically in the United States on August 7, 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $17 million worldwide against a budget of $22 million. At the time of release, it was met with negative reviews from film critics, but is now regarded as a cult film. Another film adaptation is set to be released in 2026.[1][2][3]

Plot

On the planet Eternia, the warlord Skeletor seizes control of Castle Grayskull, the center of power in the universe. His army scatters the remaining Eternian defenders and captures the Sorceress of Grayskull, imprisoning her within a power-draining field and planning to seize power over the entire universe by the next moonrise. Skeletor's archenemies—the warrior leader He-Man, veteran soldier Man-At-Arms, and his daughter Teela—rescue Thenurian locksmith Gwildor from Skeletor's troopers. Gwildor invented a "Cosmic Key" that can open a portal to anywhere by using musical notes, which was stolen by Skeletor's second-in-command Evil-Lyn allowing Skeletor to breach Castle Grayskull.

With Gwildor's remaining prototype of the Key, He-Man and his friends breach the Castle. They attempt to free the Sorceress, but are overwhelmed by Skeletor's army and forced to flee to Earth through a portal opened by Gwildor's Cosmic Key. The Key is lost upon their arrival and discovered by two California teenagers—orphaned high-school graduate Julie Winston and her boyfriend, aspiring musician Kevin Corrigan. While experimenting with the device, they accidentally transmit a signal. Tracking it, Evil-Lyn sends Skeletor's henchmen Saurod, Blade, the Beastman and Karg to recover the device.

Kevin believes the Key to be a new synthesizer and takes it to a music store run by his friend Charlie. At the school, Skeletor's henchmen arrive through a portal and chase Julie, who is rescued by He-Man while he and his companions search for the Key. The henchmen retreat to Grayskull where, incensed by their failure, Skeletor vaporizes Saurod and sends the others back to Earth, with a larger force under Evil-Lyn's command. Kevin returns to the school to find police investigating the damage caused by Skeletor's men, and no sign of Julie. Kevin is taken to Julie's house by Hugh Lubic, a detective investigating the disturbance. They find no trace of Julie, but Lubic is suspicious of the Key, which he suspects Kevin may have stolen. He confiscates it and leaves for Charlie's store to verify Kevin's story. Evil-Lyn and her team break into the house and interrogate Kevin regarding the Key's location using a mind-control collar, before pursuing Lubic.

Julie and the Eternians arrive and release Kevin from the collar, then pursue Lubic and the Key. They arrive at Charlie's store, but Skeletor's forces intercept them and a battle ensues. Evil-Lyn recovers the Key and summons Skeletor to Earth. Skeletor's forces capture the Eternians and wound Julie, which simultaneously erases the memory storage of Gwildor's Key. He-Man surrenders to save his comrades and is returned to Eternia as Skeletor's slave. Skeletor attempts to torture He-Man into submission to make his victory complete, but He-Man refuses to yield. The moment arrives for Skeletor to receive the power of the cosmos and declare himself the Master of the Universe.

On Earth, Gwildor repairs the Key, and Kevin re-creates the tones necessary to create a gateway to Eternia. The group, including Lubic as he attempts to arrest them, are transported to Castle Grayskull and begin battling Skeletor's forces. Resenting that Skeletor absorbed the power of the universe without sharing it with her, Evil-Lyn orders Karg to sound the retreat. He-Man retrieves the Sword of Grayskull and shatters Skeletor's staff in a duel, restoring the latter to his normal state. He-Man offers mercy, but Skeletor draws a concealed sword and attempts to kill him. To stop him, He-Man knocks Skeletor into a pit below to his apparent death. The freed Sorceress heals Julie, and Gwildor opens a portal to send the Earthlings home. Hailed as a hero for his bravery, Lubic decides to remain on Eternia.

Julie awakens on the morning of her parents' deaths in a plane crash. Realizing the Key transported her back in time, she prevents her parents from taking the ill-fated flight. Kevin later confirms to her that their experiences were real, producing a souvenir from Eternia: a sphere containing a scene of He-Man with his sword in front of Castle Grayskull.

In the post-credits scene, Skeletor's head emerges from the water in the pit saying "I'll be back!"

Cast

Frank Langella in 2012. Langella chose to portray Skeletor because of his son's love of the character.

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Production

Development and writing

The Masters of the Universe toyline started in 1982, which was then followed up by the television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from 1983 to 1985. The first theatrically released film to star He-Man and feature Masters of the Universe characters The Secret of the Sword was released in 1985. Work then started on producing a live action Masters of the Universe film. One of the original drafts from the script by David Odell (whose previous writing credits include Supergirl and The Dark Crystal) was reviewed in the third episode of the He-Man and She-Ra podcast, Masters Cast. The original draft included more time spent on Eternia and Snake Mountain, had Beast Man in a speaking role, and revealed that He-Man's mother was originally from Earth, like the character Queen Marlena from the Filmation animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, thus linking the two planets.[4]

Describing her character, Meg Foster said Evil-Lyn is not villainous, "she is just doing her job and she knows how to get results, even if it means being harsh". Frank Langella agreed, calling her a female more dedicated to Skeletor's cause than any man; she is obsessive around him because she loves him.Template:Sfn The filmmakers considered having Foster wear contact lenses to mask her naturally pale blue eyes, but decided they fit the character better. They augmented her chest, fitting cleavage into the costume. She wanted Evil-Lyn to have a long hairstyle, rather than the short style featured in the film; Mattel objected, considering it too far a departure from the toy.Template:Sfn

When offered the role, Langella said that he "didn't even blink ... I couldn't wait to play him". He cited his then-four-year-old son Frank III's love of Skeletor while running around his house yelling He-Man's battle cry "I have the power!" as the reason he played He-Man's archenemy.[5]

Filming

According to director Gary Goddard,[6] Mattel caused problems for the production crew by not paying their half of the production budget on time. A member of staff was forced to put lens caps on cameras on several shooting days, to prevent any more filming from taking place. Due to the production running out of budget, Goddard had to finance the filming of the battle scene between He-Man and Skeletor himself. Only Lundgren and Langella were present along with a skeleton crew, with the set's lighting made dark to emphasize the actors' presence.

Mattel was also initially very controlling over how He-Man was depicted in the film, insisting that the character could not appear doing anything morally wrong (such as swearing or killing). Sales of He-Man toys dipped in the middle of production, after which Goddard noted that Mattel relaxed their rules and allowed the director to have more liberties with the character.

During filming, Mattel held a contest for children for a chance to appear in the film.[7] Richard Szponder won the competition, but his victory was announced as filming was nearing completion. All the scenes taking place on Earth had been shot, so Goddard cast Szponder as the minion character Pigboy, who holds Skeletor's staff as he returns to Grayskull.

Two sound stages needed to be connected to film the interior of Castle Grayskull, with matte paintings filling in the pits of the central walk-way. Unhappy with Dolph Lundgren's reading of He-Man's dialogue, Goddard initially planned to have Lundgren's dialogue dubbed over by another actor, but was not permitted to do so due to contractual reasons. Lundgren's dialogue was subsequently re-recorded and dubbed over the original footage to better meet Goddard's standards. Langella told the press he loved playing Skeletor and worked very hard to make the role as exciting as possible, remarking that it was a positive experience.[8]

Director Gary Goddard has revealed that the original cut featured a longer and emotional farewell scene inspired by The Wizard of Oz where Julie Winston (Courteney Cox) had individual lines with each Eternian. The studio demanded the scene be tightened up, but the footage still exists.[9]

Jack Kirby inspiration

Comic book writer/artist John Byrne compared the film to Jack Kirby's comic book metaseries Fourth World, stating in Comic Shop News #497:

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Director Gary Goddard clarified this in a letter appearing in John Byrne's Next Men No. 26, in which he stated:

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Brian Cronin, author of the "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed" column, concludes that "the film itself was not intended to be literally a reworked Fourth World, although the intent WAS to make the film a tribute to Jack Kirby—just a tribute to ALL of his work, not just the Fourth World."[10]

Music

The musical score of Masters of the Universe was composed by Bill Conti. It was recorded by several European orchestras, chiefly the Graunke Orchestra of Munich (the only one to be credited on the soundtrack album) and conducted by a number of conductors, chiefly Bruce Miller and Harry Rabinowitz (Rabinowitz received sole credit). Conti did not conduct his score because it could not be recorded in the United States as "there was a musicians strike or something like that ... So it went to various places." He and score mixer Dan Wallin assembled the score from the various recorded takes, because there were problems with the orchestral performances.[11]

Release

Home media

The soundtrack album was released on record, cassette, and compact disc by Varèse Sarabande in 1987; it was subsequently issued in an expanded version by Edel. In 2008, La-La Land Records released a two-disc edition with the complete score and the original album presentation; in 2012, Intrada Records issued the complete score (the entirely of disc one and tracks 1–5 on disc two) on one disc. Masters of the Universe was released on DVD October 23, 2001. A 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray was released by Warner Home Video on October 2, 2012.[12]

Reception

Box office

Prior to releasing the film, The Cannon Group touted Masters of the Universe as the Star Wars of the 1980s. Despite releasing alongside the height of the success of the toy line, animated series and related merchandise, Masters of the Universe began as the third-highest-grossing film of the weekend in North America on August 7, 1987, earning $4,883,168, behind Stakeout ($5,170,403) and The Living Daylights ($7,706,230). It quickly left the charts, with a North American gross of $17,336,370.Template:Sfn[13][14][15]

The film was released in the Philippines by Solar Films on September 10, 1987.[16]

Critical response

Template:Rotten Tomatoes prose[17] Template:Metacritic film prose[18]

Variety called it a "Conan-Star Wars hybrid ripoff" that is "a colossal bore."[19] Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrote, "If you liked the toy, you'll love the movie."[20] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called it "a misfiring, underdone epic."[21] Johanna Steinmetz of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film, while predictable and derivative, entertains audiences through its side plots set on Earth.[22]

Several reviewers praised Frank Langella's portrayal of Skeletor, including Rose DeWolf in the Philadelphia Daily News (though saying his costume looked like a Halloween mask)[23] and Roger Hulburt of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.[24]

In a retrospective review, Glenn Heath Jr. of Slant Magazine called it a "jarring mix of corny screwball comedy and choppy action heroics."[25] Chris Eggertsen of HitFix, in an article identifying the film's campy, positive qualities, called it "an objectively bad film with a big heart."[26] Joshua Winning of Digital Spy wrote, "...beloved of '80s kids but scorned by critics, it's a high camp oddity that we should celebrate on its own terms."[27]

Accolades

The film was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Costumes (Julie Weiss) and Best Special Effects (Richard Edlund) at the 15th Saturn Awards, where Gary Goddard also received a special Silver Scroll Award for Outstanding Achievement.[28] At the 1988 Fantasporto Festival, the film was nominated for Best Film and won Best Special Effects. Billy Barty was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for the film at the 8th Golden Raspberry Awards.[29]

Legacy

The commercial failure of Masters of the Universe, among other films such as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Lifeforce, contributed to the eventual closure of Cannon Films.Template:Sfn Masters of the Universe was Lundgren's first leading role in a feature film following his success in Rocky IV and he later labeled it as his least favorite film role.Template:Sfn Conversely, Langella considers Skeletor one of his favorite roles.[5]

Skeletor's question to He-Man ("Tell me about the loneliness of good, He-Man. Is it equal to the loneliness of evil?") is slightly reworded in the Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe, a comic crossover with the Injustice franchise.[30]

Gwildor, a character created for Masters of the Universe as a replacement for Orko due to the complexity of the character to make in live action and portrayed by Barty, was featured in 2024's Masters of the Universe: Revolution voiced by Ted Biaselli. In it he serves much of the same role of inventor as he does in the film, and also poses as a foil to Orko (Griffin Newman).

Canceled sequel

In 1987, Globus announced a sequel, Masters of the Universe 2, at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.[31] Despite Lundgren's refusal to reprise the role—reportedly because he disliked the first film and instead chose to star in Cannon's Red Scorpion (1989)—the project moved forward with surfer Laird Hamilton cast as his replacement.[32][31] Director Albert Pyun was attached to the project, having also been linked to Cannon's planned Spider-Man adaptation, with both films reportedly set to have budgets of $2 million.[31] However, due to Cannon's financial troubles after the box-office failures of the first Masters film and Superman IV (1987), the company refused to pay Mattel the royalties for the use of the characters. Mattel, moreover, was not pleased with the sequel's script, and the whole project was canceled. The film rights thus reverted to Mattel. To avoid wasting the sets and costumes already prepared for the sequel (and for an unmade Spider-Man film), Cannon produced a small, low-budget movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, which they titled Cyborg (1989).[31][33]

Reboot

From the 1990s through the 2020s, rumors of a possible reboot circulated several times, including one allegedly involving John Woo, though these were never confirmed. In 2007, however, Variety reported that Warner Bros., producer Joel Silver and screenwriter Justin Marks were developing a potential film featuring updated characters and a visual style similar to 300.[34] But these and later projects repeatedly stalled, leaving the new film trapped in development hell.

In January 2019, it was reported that Art Marcum and Matt Holloway would rewrite the reboot screenplay. On February 13, 2019, Aaron and Adam Nee were chosen as directors for a film to be produced by Sony Pictures, with principal photography scheduled to begin in mid-July 2019 in Prague. On March 20, 2019, Noah Centineo was cast as He-Man.[35] However, the actor dropped out of the role on April 29, 2021, after more than two years with no updates on the project, despite its original release date having been set for March 5 of that year.[36] In June 2021, rumors began to circulate of a new film to be produced and distributed by Netflix.[37] The news was confirmed in January 2022: the Nee brothers would direct, and Kyle Allen was cast as Adam/He-Man.[38] This project, too, was ultimately canceled in 2023.[39]

In 2024, a new film was announced as a reboot of the 1987 Cannon version, this time produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films, directed by Travis Knight, with British actor Nicholas Galitzine starring as He-Man. The worldwide release is scheduled for June 5, 2026.[40][41]

See also

References

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Bibliography

External links

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This article incorporates text from the Wikipedia article "Masters of the Universe (1987 film)", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.Retrieved 2026-03-04.

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  11. ↑ "Bill Conti's Music of the Universe," pg. 8, liner notes, Masters of the Universe: Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, La-La Land Records LLLCD 1071.
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  30. ↑ Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe No. 4 (October 2018)
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Template:Cite web
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