Exclusive: He-Man Live-Action Show In Development At Netflix
We have an exclusive that a live-action He-Man series is in development at Netflix. It would be a major move for the Master of the Universe
Update Jul 18, 2023: The live-action He-Man series on Netflix was in development, but has been canceled by the streamer.
There is a certain nostalgia around the toys and characters of yesteryear returning to the big and small screen. It has been happening more and more in Hollywood with reboots of iconic characters continuing to head into production. And we have an exclusive that another famous character is getting the live-action treatment. According to our trusted and proven source, He-Man is getting a live-action reboot series and it is in development at Netflix. It won’t be long until we are returning to Castle Grayskull with Prince Adam and company.
There are few other details about this scoop right now, but the timing around a He-Man live-action series makes a lot of sense. The character is set to see something of a resurgence on the platform with Kevin Smith developing the animated Masters of the Universe: Revelation releasing later this week. That show is set to basically pick up right after the timeline of the original animated series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe which ran for two seasons in the early 1980s.
And Netflix has clearly been in the He-Man and Masters of the Universe game as part of their content plan. In addition to Revelation, they’ve also been running She-Ra and the Princess of Power for five seasons now. That character was originally a spin-off of the He-Man franchise and is the twin sister of Prince Adam. That story is separate from the Masters of the Universe timeline but is all part of the same world give or take.
Netflix won’t be the first folks to try and put He-Man into a live-action setting. That was Masters of the Universe back in 1987 starring Dolph Lundgren and even had Courtney Cox as a teenage Earthling. The flick was a schlocky mess, got completely panned by critics (13% on Rotten Tomatoes), and had a terrible box office showing with just $17 million on its $22 million budget. We won’t be looking for a return to that world thankfully, and advances in special effects should be able to handle quite a bit of the lift required to bring these characters to life. There have been other movies rumored in the past, but none ever got to the finish line. A series of this type would require significant production value to make it palatable.
A Netflix He-Man live-action series would follow the characters of Eternia who are locked in a battle of good and evil with Prince Adam able to summon abilities from the Sword of Power to turn himself into He-Man. His crew is made up of a variety of characters but includes his pet/ steed Battle Cat along with Man-at-Arms, Teela, Orko, and the Sorceress. They face off against Skeletor who is looking for power over Eternia. His crew includes Beast Man and Evil-Lyn among many others. Again, this world is rich with characters developed over the years in comic books and other animated series.
Though a live-action He-Man series is just getting into development and will likely be some time before it hits the screens, fans can check out Revelations when it hits the platform on July 23rd. From a classic and retro point of view, it looks like Smith and company have worked hard to keep it very much in line with the original while updating it for the action and story as well. We will give more updates on this new Netflix project as they come in.
