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Context Trivia / MastersOfTheUniverse

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1[[folder:The Franchise]]
2* ActingForTwo:
3** The 2002 series has most of the cast voiced by at least two people. Creator/ScottMcNeil for example voiced Clawful, Mer-Man, Stratos, Ram Man, and Beast Man; an astonishing ''five'' regular characters. He would then later pick up Kobra Khan.
4** In the original series this was all over the place. Despite the number of characters there were at most eight actors in a given episode (and in a lot of episodes there were only ''five''). Lou Scheimer (under the name Erik Gunden) voiced the most characters.
5* CreatorBacklash: Nobody involved in the development liked the name ''Masters of the Universe''. They preferred the working title of ''Lords of Power'', or just calling it ''He-Man'', but Mattel turned down both (''He-Man'' because it made it sound like He-Man was the only character you needed to buy, ''Lords of Power'' because they inexplicably thought it sounded religious).
6* DevelopmentGag: Ditztroyer's pirate clan, "Fighting Foe Men," was a title considered for the MOTU brand, before "Masters of the Universe" was decided upon.
7* FollowTheLeader: In a sense, as He-Man was the result of the success of ''Franchise/StarWars''. Creator/{{Mattel}} was asked to make the action figures, but immediately rejected it[[note]]In fact, most companies did, as they felt the movie would bomb. Kenner's deal for the Star Wars license was signed a month before the film came out[[/note]]. But seeing how well Creator/{{Kenner}}'s ''Star Wars'' toyline sold, Mattel made action figures of ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|1981}}'' and ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}'', but they didn't sell well due to the movies not being as big as ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', with the latter being a BoxOfficeBomb. So Mattel decide to make their own action figure line.
8* MissingEpisode: A 40th episode of the '02 series was scripted, but never animated. A ComicBookAdaptation of it was included as a special feature on the DVD, though. [[spoiler:King Hiss is fully healed and Man-At-Arms is turned into a Snakeman again to be ''their'' GadgeteerGenius.]]
9* OvertookTheManga: Or, in this case, overtook the mini-comics. Then again, Filmation's show wasn't really based on the mini-comics anyway.
10* PopCultureUrbanLegends: A widespread rumor has the franchise originating from Mattel repackaging the toys from a ''Film/{{Conan the Barbarian|1982}}'' toyline. And while Conan Properties International did sue when Mattel backed out of making Conan toys only to release a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in He-Man and friends, [[https://www.cbr.com/he-man-conan-toy-tie-in/ the company was already working on]] ''Masters of the Universe'' when the contract was signed.
11** The sheer amount of guesswork regarding "Savage He-man", AKA "Wonder Bread He-Man". This was an action figure that used the basic He-Man mold with brown hair. Guessing ranged anywhere from being a promotion through Wonder Bread to being a high-quality early knockoff. While Wonder Bread did have a tie-in promo, it was for something completely different. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhnH62KZ0SI Ultimately evidence came to light in 2020]] that reveal the figure was a prize figure as part of a Mattel program to get a free action figure with the purchase of any 3 figures. There are still unanswered questions- primarily why some sealed copies have samples of the "Man-E-Weapons" accessories that came with certain copies if Man-E-Faces- but for now the mystery is largely solved.
12* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The winning character design from the contest mentioned above was never made because the line was canceled, though Mattel came through with every other promised prize. Finally the character, Fearless Photog, was made as part of the Classics line for the 30th anniversary of the franchise.
13** Likewise for Wun-Dar, Mara, the Star Sisters or any other toy from the ''Classics'' line that had reached prototype stage in the 80s but was never released.
14* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
15** Before coming up with He-Man, Mattel tried other ideas that were immediately rejected during their pitches. One is about giants and the other about tiny creatures with playsets.
16** The early design for Beast Man was bear-like, but was soon redesigned to its final look so he would not resemble a [[Franchise/StarWars Wookie]].
17** There were plans for a prequel to both [=MotU=] and She-Ra featuring an ancestor of the main characters, He-Ro, set in a prehistoric version of Eternia called "Preternia". Yeah, those never saw the light of day, but He-Ro has recently been released as part of the [=MotU=] Classics toyline.
18** Similarly, Vikor, He-Man of the North, is a MOTU classics figure based on the earliest stage of what would become He-Man's design. Vykron is also based on an early concept prototype where the idea was to have a hero with separate costumes, similar to Mattel's prior ''Big Jim'' line - a barbarian, a military man and a space man with a [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]]-esque helmet. They quickly decided that the barbarian was the best way to go.
19** The Monogram figure kit line was almost cancelled in favor of another project (which didn't itself see the light of day): a 1/25 scale Dodge Diplomat police car.
20** There was to be a sequel series called [[http://he-man.wikia.com/wiki/He-Ro_Son_of_He-Man_and_the_Masters_of_the_Universe He-Ro Son of He-Man]], featuring He-Man's adopted son, but nothing came of it.
21** The original idea for Two-Bad was making one of the heads be a good guy and the other a bad guy. This was skipped and both were bad.
22** In the 2002 series, they were going to be part of the Evil Warriors from the beginning, until their origin story was considered for a later episode.
23** Stratos was going to be a villain.
24** Tri-Klops and Whiplash were going to be heroes.
25** She-Ra's working name was He-Ra, both to keep a connection to He-Man and a nod to the Greek goddess. It was changed as another company already had a trademark that conflicted.
26** Think it odd that Horde commander Colonel Blast from the cartoon had Rio Blast's gimmick? He was an early concept for what would become Rio Blast.
27** Following crossovers with [[ComicBook/HeManThundercats the Thundercats]] and [[ComicBook/InjusticeVsMastersOfTheUniverse the DC Comics Injustice universe]], DC had attempted to make a crossover with the IDW incarnation of the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles. [[https://bleedingcool.com/comics/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-he-man-crossover-that-never-was/ The crossover made it as far as concept art before delays and its eventual cancellation]].
28** The "New Eternia" subset of the Masterverse toyline involves making modern toys of many early concept artwork proposals
29* WorkingTitle: The early name for the toyline ''Lords of Power'' was considered, to be in par with ''Star Wars''. But was soon rejected as it sounded "too religious".
30[[/folder]]
31
32[[folder:The film]]
33* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/FrankLangella wrote some of his lines, like: "Tell me about the loneliness of good, He-Man. Is it equal to the loneliness of evil?"
34* ActorSharedBackground: Anthony De Longis, who played Blade, in addition to being an actor, is also a trained swordsman and whip expert, often hired to train actors to use said weapons (check his Website/IMDb page for examples). So, naturally, Blade uses both weapons in the movie.
35* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/FrankLangella says that while people assume that the film is an embarrassment, he actually ''loved'' being Skeletor, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfiOOwJTgg8 is very willing to share his experience]]. In truth, he chose the role in part to doing [[SoMyKidsCanWatch something for his kids]] and because he thought it would be fun to play a cartoon villain. As a result, whenever asked about it, he glows with appreciation for the role.
36* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $22 million. Box office, $17,336,370.
37* ContestWinnerCameo: In the DVDCommentary, Gary Goddard mentions how Creator/{{Mattel}} held a contest where the winner would get a role in the film, but they didn't tell them about this until very late in production, so the winner just got a cameo as one of Skeletor's guards near the end with his face hidden under a pig mask.
38* CreatorBacklash: Creator/DolphLundgren was somewhat embarrassed by the film. He appears to have somewhat more positive thoughts in the documentary ''The Power of Grayskull'' where he spoke favorably of creating atmosphere with the practical effects of the 1980’s, as well as being [[SoMyKidsCanWatch one of the few films in his filmography he could show his children without worrying about the content]].
39* CreatorKiller:
40** This was one of several films in the 1980's that led to Creator/TheCannonGroup imploding.
41** Gary Goddard would never work on a feature film after this, and when [[Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture another production]] based on a Creator/{{Mattel}} property bombed, went back to the theme park industry where he had much better success.
42* DawsonCasting: Julia and Kevin are supposed to be teenagers, but Creator/CourteneyCox and Robert Duncan [=McNeil=] were roughly 23.
43* DivorcedInstallment[=/=]DolledUpInstallment: Misrepresented comments suggested that the film was intended to be a ''ComicBook/NewGods'' movie before it was rewritten for ''He-Man''. The director has stated that he was heavily inspired by Creator/JackKirby, but it was conceptually He-Man from the beginning.
44** ''[[Film/Cyborg1989 Cyborg]]'' was originally intended to be a sequel to this movie.
45* DoingItForTheArt: The final sword fight between He-Man and Skeletor was filmed at the very end, ''after'' the money ran out. The director paid out of his own pocket to get that vital sequence filmed and have a finished movie, which is why the set and lighting change so dramatically just for the lion's share of the duel.
46* ExecutiveMeddling:
47** Mattel refused to have any action figure based character killed in the movie. Ironically, one of the three movie characters which Mattel turned into an action figure, Saurod, gets killed early on. They also mandated early in production that He-Man not be allowed to kill anyone on screen. This necessitated making Skeletor's troops into robot soldiers, though this fact is never stated outright in the film.
48** Gary Goddard tried to dedicate the film to Creator/JackKirby in the closing credits. But the studio took the credit out.
49* FranchiseKiller: The film's critical and financial failure sealed its fate for the original franchise as profits of the franchise plummeted from its peak of $400 million in 1986 to just ''$7 million'' in 1987. By early 1988, the original series and toyline was discontinued.
50* MarthDebutedInSmashBros: The movie was the only thing related to the franchise that was released in Japan until ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', franchise-wise, and ''WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation'', starring a Japanese-dubbed He-Man.
51* NoStuntDouble: Creator/DolphLundgren did his own stunts in the movie.
52* PropRecycling: Because of the tight budget, the crew had to recycle miniatures previously used by ''Film/BladeRunner'' and ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' to pad out the skyline footage they had.
53* RealLifeRelative: The Japanese dub for TV Asahi cast father and son Creator/ChikaoOhtsuka and Creator/AkioOtsuka as Skeletor and He-Man.
54* RoleReprise:
55** The Mexican Spanish dub use the same voice cast from the animated TV series.
56** The Brazilian Portuguese dub was made in a different studio from the 80's cartoon's dub, in another city, but the studio managed to bring the two main voice actors from the animated series: Garcia Junior for He-Man and Isaac Bardavid for Skeletor. The voices for the other characters [[TheOtherDarrin were changed]].
57* SoMyKidsCanWatch: Creator/FrankLangella cited his then-four-year-old son's love of Skeletor while running around his house yelling He-Man's battle cry "I have the power!", as the reason he chose to play He-Man's archenemy. He also says that he had [[AwesomeDearBoy always wanted to play a cartoonish over-the-top evil nutcase]] and was promised Skeletor could be that role. He feels the filmmakers delivered.
58* StillbornFranchise: There were plans for a sequel, which got as far as early production. However, due to monetary issues, Cannon Films lost the rights to the franchise, and the whole project, along with the Cannon's cancelled ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' production assets, eventually turned into Albert Pyun's ''Film/Cyborg1989''.
59* TroubledProduction:
60** The film went into production at the wrong time, as He-Man was slowly dwindling in popularity, Cannon Films was going bankrupt AND Mattel was having financial issues. It went from getting a slashed budget right before filming began to spending the entire back half of filming trying to convince the crew that paychecks will be in that day. Filming was officially shut down just before they could film the climactic sword fight and have a completed movie; the director had to wiggle in another two days of extremely calculated filming to do the bulk of the fight later that evening and then squeeze in another day a month later (on the director's dime) to get the final shots before the set was torn down. They designed the set with the intention of the final fight using ''all of it'' and were disappointed in the end result themselves.
61** A fictionalized version of the production can be seen in one of Paul Chadwick's ''ComicBook/{{Concrete}}'' stories, ''Fragile Creature'', where the title character helps do practical effects on the set of a movie adaptation of a (deliberately) very obvious CaptainErsatz of He-Man. Chadwick himself was in fact part of the real movie's crew.
62* WagTheDirector: Frank Langella embraced his role and the producers knew full well how lucky they were to have him, as such nearly everything about Skeletor from the makeup to the clothing to bits of the dialogue was based on his suggestions.
63* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
64** The original draft included more time spent on Eternia and Snake Mountain, had Beast man in a speaking role, and even revealed that He-Man's mother was originally from Earth, as per Queen Marlena, thus linking the two planets.
65** The original idea was to have the film set on Eternia throughout and be much more faithful to the cartoon, but since the first draft the script was written to have it set on Earth and reduce the amount of sets, and strange characters they would need to create.
66** The original concept for Blade was to have him in heavy alien make-up, chain mail, and a black rubber body glove. However, because of the daunting action sequences, Anthony De Longis feared for his health, so the rubber was trimmed away in the areas that the chain mail would not cover to allow his skin to breathe. De Longis also did not want to wear heavy make-up, so he offered to shave his head instead.
67** Snake Mountain was actually going to be in the movie. A matte painting was to be done for the exterior, while the interiors, known as Skeletor's Palace, were drawn by production designer William Stout. Stout had drawn a series of byways throughout the floor plan with small rivers of lava flowing through the ground around Skeletor's throne in the throne room. The shapes for Skeletor's throne room, also called the Lava Lounge, were inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's design of the Imperial Hotel in Japan. Plans for Snake Mountain were quickly scrapped before a set could be built to keep the film's budget low, much to the ire and disappointment of He-Man fans.
68** The Snakemen and She-Ra were in early drafts. William Stout was able to get Gary Goddard to approve his redesigned [[http://www.heavymetal.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tumblr_n4d72kRE0s1rom810o4_1280.jpg She-Ra costume]], which was a futuristic white and gold suit consisting of a gold crown, a long sleeved top that revealed She-Ra's cleavage and midriff, a gold chain-mail skirt and knee-high boots. However, the Snakemen and She-Ra were cut out due to the film's limited budget.
69** In the planned second film, Skeletor invades our world once more, this time in the guise of an evil corporate tycoon, and would have introduced both She-Ra and Trap Jaw.
70** The Director has admitted he wasn't excited about Creator/DolphLundgren as He-Man, in large part due to his thick accent, but was cast by the execs due to his exposure in ''Film/RockyIV''. He auditioned others and even had one he felt better suited, but was overruled. He even anticipated [[SameLanguageDub to have him overdubbed]], but Lundgren's contract specified against it (Lundgren did redub himself in places where his original performance was difficult to understand).
71** In a scripted scene, Kevin Corrigan is actually seated alone in a pizzeria and is testing out the Cosmic Key. When he pushes a button, the Key plays a musical melody and the cups, plates and pizzas around the pizzeria all float through the air. When the musical melody stops playing, the pizza slices, cups and plates all crash to the ground and in response, Kevin says "Radical." This scene was not filmed, but was used in novelizations and was mentioned in the official movie and poster magazine.
72** Creator/DudleyMoore was considered for a role.
73[[/folder]]

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