Masters of the Universe: Revelation is anything but a revelation to those of us who grew up with the original. If anything, the show is like a warm blanket of nostalgia, the kind that, in world that’s still trying to figure out what it is and where in the pandemic we are, is as comforting a thing as they come.
We had a chance to participate in a roundtable interview with Masters of the Universe: Revelation stars Chris Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Tiffany Smith about what it was like to become part of such an iconic world, and oh, yes, see themselves in action figure form – which is more a question for anyone other than Sarah Michelle Gellar, who at this point probably owns twenty different actions figures with her face, and honestly …so do we.
Interviews such as these are always not just a way to learn about the show, and the characters these actors are playing, but a litmus test of the people we’re interviewing. We’re pretty pleased to report that Chris, Sarah and Tiffany are not just delightful people, they’re really, really funny. They laughed so much – and we laughed so much – that it almost didn’t feel like an interview, and though some of the jokes sometimes don’t make it into a write-up such as this one, I feel it’s important to note there were many, many jokes.
Particularly between Wood, our own He-Man and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Teela herself, who is, if you ask us, about as important as He-Man. Even more so in this version, if only because she’s Sarah Michelle Gellar. It is what it is.
But Wood, best known for The Vampire Diaries and Supergirl, admitted he had a lot of fun voicing such an iconic character as He-Man. “I love that the character has sort of two personas,” he told us. “One of sort of your classic, earnest, excited prince. The other is sort of your classic, big, most powerful man in the universe.” You know, normal stuff. “They couldn’t be more different,” but he still wanted to make it feel not like “two voices, but the same character in two forms.”
Considering most of us already have an opinion on both He-Man and his alter ego, that was a tall order. But Chris was very quick to praise not just Kevin Smith, but the team behind Masters of the Universe: Revelation for creating the show they did and making his job easier.
“It starts with Kevin, and the writers, producers, leading the direction of the show, bringing it to 2021, while staying true to the original and sort of honoring everything that people loved about the show.” Something that, in turn, means that he is “reinvigorated as a fan by doing this and watching it.”
And truly, as someone who grew up with Masters of the Universe, I fully agree with Chris when he says this new show “has the (same) essence, but this version is more accessible and it’s for more people. It’s not just for young boys, it’s for young girls, for adults, who knew the show, who didn’t and it’s a great epic adventure story, but it also has a lot of heart.”
And also, he gets to have action figures! And trust us, from his setup at home, that was definitely one of the perks. It would be a perk for us too, we can’t deny it. It was even one for Sarah Michelle Gellar, who has a lot of experience playing iconic roles we all look up to.
“My legacy is gonna be how many projects can I do where I get action figures, or attractions at Disneyland,” she joked in this regard, but it was easier to see how much appreciation she has for the roles she’s gotten, for the fans, and for the appreciation. “This world has been so welcoming to me, I think they understand I have love for these franchises, and I take it seriously.”
Her answers also turned to appreciating the team behind Masters of the Universe particularly Kevin Smith. “Kevin wouldn’t do wrong by these franchises; he loves them so much.” And though Wood was a self-confessed big fan before, Sarah knew of the characters, but came into it with much less expectations, and “sucked into the first five episodes,” she shared. And that was from script alone! “I thought they were wonderful, (even if) they’re not necessarily aimed at me.”
The fun part for her, of course, was getting to develop a character. Because even though Teela is present in every episode of the original animated series, she wasn’t “very fleshed out,” something that definitely changed in this version, as Sarah shared that “the character was so rich in this, it was very easy to make my own, while still honoring the original.”
Plus, “she’s just so badass looking!”
But Gellar, a childhood hero of mine and so many girls from my generation, was very clear on why she decided Teela was both a role she wanted to play, and one she was sure we’d enjoy. “I definitely gravitate towards strong female characters, especially where a female is a part of driving the story.” Hey, us too! “I never want to just be the girlfriend, the mom, the wife, there has to be a purpose and a journey, and a discovery.”
We don’t either, and a lot of girls will probably cite Sarah Michelle Gellar as their inspiration to be, to do, more.
Tiffany Smith, who’s portraying a totally new character for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, sure hopes Andra can become even as half as iconic as Teela. Well, that and that she gets her action figures. We can’t blame her for that, as we said before, action figures are one of the coolest parts of a project like this one.
For Tiffany, who was “obviously a fan of the original series,” this role feels like a “very lucky” break, not just because “knowing that Kevin Smith was such a fanboy,” she felt like this had all the makings of a great series, but also because it made her feel “really confident” how they “really guided it, and we just stepped in and got to play with it a bit.” With the added advantage that Tiffany “didn’t have the same pressure because there wasn’t any real version of Andra yet,” instead she got to “make her fresh and new.”
As someone who was very familiar with the original, Andra was a fun character, but she might be even more fun for people who aren’t, because as Tiffany pointed out, “she is the audiences entrance to the show, because she fangirls.” Which, wouldn’t we if we were in her shoes? “She’s a lot like Barry Allen sometimes,” Tiffany shared, except she’s a little cuter, and her own brand of badass. Just as she should be.
Are you excited for Masters of the Universe: Revelation? Share with us in the comments below!
The first five episodes of Masters of the Universe: Revelation will be available on Netflix July 23rd.
