Masters Of The Universe Just Fixed The New Film’s Biggest Problem

The biggest point of contention with the new Masters of the Universe movie has just been fixed. The upcoming Amazon MGM Studios production adapts the classic cartoon series to live-action for the first time since 1987, and there has already been much excitement expressed around the excellent Masters of the Universe cast as well as the colorful and faithful visuals.

Still, despite what looks to be a great He-Man in Nicolas Galitzine, there have been some worries about the film. While concerns continue to be assuaged about details like Skeletor’s live-action design, there is still some hesitation concerning the story for the new film and its change to the animated canon. Fortunately, the new trailer has fixed the biggest concern.

Prince Adam Is A Fish-Out-Of-Water On Earth, Not In Eternia

The most criticized issue with the new Masters of the Universe is the real-world setting, although the new trailer has indicated that Prince Adam’s ties to Earth will not be as significant as expected. While that setting will take up at least part of the film’s runtime, new dialogue has proven that Prince Adam is an Eternian through and through.

In the new trailer, Adam laments his distance from his family and his people. “I know all of you,” he says, before making his mission the entire time he was away clear: “I never stopped trying to get back home.” This sets essential context and creates an important grounding for Adam when he returns to Eternia.

While many films would use the weirdness of Eternia as a chance for self-aware humor to lampoon the sillier aspects of the adaptation, Masters of the Universe‘s Earth setting has already made it clear that this will not be a part of this new film. Instead, the opposite will occur: Adam is out of place on Earth, not in Eternia.

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This is made clear at the end of the new trailer, where a friend from Earth talks to Adam concerning his openness with his heritage. While the real world and Eternia dichotomy may still challenge some viewers, it is clear that the new film is taking the best possible approach to that relationship for this story.

Why Adam’s Culture Is Important For Masters Of The Universe

Masters of the Universe is a fantasy story, and immersion is an incredibly important factor. The new film is building up an exciting world of swords and sorcery, married with the exciting colors and actions of spaceships and laser guns. The opportunity for viewers to be drawn into the story works best when approached with belief in itself.

There has been concern that the real-world setup for the film could bring too much self-awareness to He-Man’s story. These types of winks and nods are often fun, but Masters of the Universe is a property that needs to skew far closer to the earnestness of the Avatar franchise rather than the meta-cleverness of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s hundreds of Easter eggs.

Yes, Masters of the Universe is a movie, but it has the potential to be more than that. The universe of the film is expansive and has drawn in audiences for decades with its incredible scope and scale. Setting Prince Adam’s perspective as the audience surrogate firmly grounded in Eternian paradigms is an important step in the right direction.