"Masters of the Universe" director Travis Knight sits down with Space to discuss the latest He-Man film.
(Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)
"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'
A still from the original He-Man cartoon. (Image credit: Mattel)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."
