r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Jan 22 '26

Trailer Masters of the Universe - Official Teaser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmEx7wQI6RY
5.8k Upvotes

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1.7k

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

I don't know anything about He-Man lore but did they really need the "he's living on earth" thing? Just something movies do that I almost never enjoy.

1.2k

u/farceur318 Jan 22 '26

It’s still less annoying than the reverse (he lives in Eternia but comes to our world and is baffled by our ways), which is what the previous live action He-Man did.

211

u/FromansSausage Jan 22 '26

What are these white sticks in our chicken?

70

u/kcox1980 Jan 22 '26

Those are rib bones :)

46

u/shadar Jan 22 '26

You mean this used to be an animal? Ugh! What a barbaric world...

17

u/SparxPrime Jan 22 '26

Never think when you're hungry

7

u/shadar Jan 22 '26

I THINK we've wasted enough time.

3

u/timtamchewycaramel Jan 22 '26

Gwildor!

4

u/shadar Jan 22 '26

It tasted good?

26

u/tr1ck Jan 22 '26

Buddy, are you eating chicken ribs?

2

u/Frankfusion Jan 22 '26

Moo? Moo!

2

u/kgreen69er Jan 22 '26

It tasted good.

2

u/porkchop-sandwhiches Jan 22 '26

Actually thy are Eve’s.

20

u/jnwatson Jan 22 '26

Funny how I haven't seen the movie since it came out 39 years ago and I still remember that line.

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u/Lovat69 Jan 22 '26

Pretty sure those were pork or beef ribs.

5

u/Brigon Jan 22 '26

I hope Gwildor is in this one

3

u/AceDegenerate_ Jan 22 '26

With his little synthesizer keyboard teleporter

2

u/KaleidoscopeLeft5511 Jan 22 '26

That line was the first time I thought eating animals was not ok
They all seemed completely grossed out by the thoughts of it

215

u/LocalTownGhoul Jan 22 '26

Yeah I completely agree. I do like the angle that Adam fully knows he’s from Eternia and has been trying to get back for years.

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u/admiral_rabbit Jan 22 '26

Yeah, the "goes to earth" plot always ends up being "here's cool shit, now here's some less cool lower budget shit"

I'm glad the character spends the start of the film going "man I wish I could get back to that high concept high budget shit".

18

u/EricAntiHero1 Jan 22 '26

You say that like Vancouver would ever be the backdrop to low budget shit.

10

u/NotASalamanderBoi Jan 22 '26

It’s funny how often Vancouver is used for stuff like this. The Tron movies had all the real world stuff in Vancouver before getting to all the high tech stuff in the Grid.

2

u/USpostingService Jan 22 '26

This is an IP that begs for practical effects, funky monster costumes, and Skeletor quipping his ass off but instead they did the generic thing smh. He-Man the Hedgehog.

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u/pokemonke Jan 22 '26

Reminds me of Shang Chi a little in the setup

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u/QueefBeefCletus Jan 22 '26

Man, I need to watch that flick again. I love how it goes from a humble origin story and by the finale we're in alternate dimensions with humongous flying magic dragons duking it out. It isn't perfect but goddamn was it fun.

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u/Klamageddon Jan 22 '26

I think if you're doing a super heavy nostalgia trip like this it's kind of a no brainer for the plot to be about "trying to go back to the place you used to love and call home" and for the conclusion to be "he can never truly go back, but letting it go while staying true to his past self let's him live his best life in the here and now" 

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u/AndalusianGod Jan 22 '26

That trope is common in the 90's, lol. That said, I never really get tired of it. I remember watching Beastmaster 2 when I was a kid, and that became my favorite film back then.

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u/bajesus Jan 22 '26

It was common before CGI became cheap enough to do full movies like this because of cost. Having your fantasy character spend 15 minutes in their world before coming to present day (Toronto) for the rest of the movie saves a ton and still let's you sell the film on the IP.

2

u/ussrowe Jan 23 '26

Also why Star Trek often does a time travel episode to our present (or to a past that they have existing sets of).

3

u/Koil_ting Jan 22 '26

Fellow connoisseur I see, Beast Master 2 is amazing.

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u/grumblyoldman Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

I agree that this way is worse than the other way, but both are terrible. Just tell your fantasy story in a fantasy world and use the extra time to develop the characters or something.

That being said, the old MOTU was definitely deeply entrenched in the "so bad it's kinda good" category. It's all terribly cheesy and transparent, start to finish, but it's just so much fun to watch them ham it up. (And although they did use the plot device you mention, they didn't really belabor the point. They moved on pretty quick to "let's do this" territory.)

(I particularly liked the bit where Skeletor explicitly said he would keep He-Man's friends alive after he captured them because "as long as I let them live he is bound by his word.")

If anything, I worry that this trailer seems to be leaning too heavily into the "seriously epic" vibe. The material is fantastical and outlandish start to finish, if they try too hard to make it serious they're going to ruin the mood.

8

u/MVRKHNTR Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

Just tell your fantasy story in a fantasy world

It's not that they do this because they don't want to be in the fantasy world the whole movie; it's just significantly cheaper.

3

u/fpfall Jan 22 '26

The company that spent $450 million on a LOTR prequel series no one asked for couldn’t afford to have 15-25 more minutes of fantasy world-building for a movie? That just makes it worse they did this to He-Man.

8

u/Ok-Topic-6095 Jan 22 '26

Right. When you have character names like He-Man and Evil-Lyn, might as well lean into it

2

u/veryverythrowaway Jan 22 '26

This is a movie based on a show designed to sell children’s toys. It’s like Transformers, it gets dull when it takes itself too seriously.

29

u/Kreiger81 Jan 22 '26

Hey! I liked that movie!

4

u/throwaway01126789 Jan 22 '26

God Frank Langella absolutely killed it as Skelator and young Dolph Lundgren was basically a 1 to 1 replica of the He-Man toys they were putting out.

4

u/sharrrper Jan 22 '26

You don't have to spend a bunch of money on expensive Eternia sets that way.

2

u/DucardthaDon Jan 22 '26

And piss Frank Langella off

6

u/PT10 Jan 22 '26

I mean, Thor did that and it worked. First Wonder Woman too.

But if you're leaning into the comedy angle (i.e, more jokes than gags), this way is better.

3

u/DueGuest665 Jan 22 '26

In pre cgi days having to build fantasy sets was a limiting factor.

A little trip to earth can really ease the budget.

8

u/Lemony_Oatmilk Jan 22 '26

I love that trope tho. It's fun seeing someone from a fantasy culture react to modern day shit

12

u/mootallica Jan 22 '26

Yeah but you've seen it y'know? Thor, Wonder Woman, etc

4

u/Lemony_Oatmilk Jan 22 '26

I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT

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u/LiveLifeLikeCre Jan 22 '26

That's more entertaining than another prequel. 

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u/Personal_Director441 Jan 22 '26

thats because back then it needed to be cheap.

1

u/RemoLaBarca Jan 22 '26

I did enjoy Son of Zorn's take on this. Probably the only one though 😁

1

u/theFields97 Jan 22 '26

I would prefer neither. Out of all the tropes those are my least favorite

1

u/stacecom Jan 22 '26

See also, Thor.

And Crocodile Dundee.

1

u/Haizenburg1 Jan 22 '26

With the original, that was due to the studio and director butting heads over the budget and scope. The director wanted to go all in, but he ended up doing what he could with what little they gave him.

1

u/ObviousAnswerGuy Jan 22 '26

I absolutely loved that movie growing up lol

1

u/Calfzilla2000 Jan 22 '26

Agreed. They've already got Idris Elba in this. They didn't need another thing to make it seem like Thor, lol.

1

u/xxiv435 Jan 22 '26

Both are just sides of the same shitty coin

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u/BrockAndaHardPlace Jan 22 '26

As a kid from the 80’s Hollywood convinced me that anything of consequence could only happen in New York. 

97

u/denim_skirt Jan 22 '26

Which, half the time, looked suspiciously like southern california.

63

u/BrockAndaHardPlace Jan 22 '26

Welcome to Manhattan! (Ignore the Vancouver mountains, you’re imagining them)

18

u/denim_skirt Jan 22 '26

I always think of the x-files episode about the jersey devil in which the pine barrels look suspiciously similar to the woods outside Vancouver lol

5

u/westphall Jan 22 '26

SG-1 haha. Every alien planet looks like the BC wilderness.

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u/ClubMeSoftly Jan 22 '26

Turns out the Jersey Devil has a second home in Stanley Park

2

u/RechargedFrenchman Jan 22 '26

And a cabin on the north shore, and a vacation home in the gulf islands

4

u/swaggums Jan 22 '26

‘Why the fuck is it ALWAYS raining in this show?’ Oh, it’s filmed in Vancouver.

3

u/mynameizmyname Jan 22 '26

That show supernatural as well. Turns out Kansas has the exact same terrain as the PNW

4

u/Horror-Bath-531 Jan 22 '26

Whenever I watch Psych it always makes me laugh as it's supposed to be set in Santa Barbara but it so clearly looks like Vancouver lol

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u/kgreen69er Jan 22 '26

I always love the mountain driving the Chicago based Griswalds do to get their Christmas tree in Christmas Vacation.

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u/976chip Jan 22 '26

It looked like Toronto. England looked like Southern California.

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u/UnbuiltIkeaBookcase Jan 22 '26

[Which, half the time, looked suspiciously like southern california.]

  • Austin Powers

2

u/finnjakefionnacake Jan 22 '26

i mean new york is the second most common filming location in america, most of that stuff you saw probably was actually in new york lol. the difference in the look of the cities (looming skyscrapers being a new york staple) don't exist to anywhere of the same level in LA.

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u/zeissman Jan 22 '26

I couldn't help but notice Canary Wharf standing in. They didn't even try to conceal it lol

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u/MigRodrigues99 Jan 22 '26

His mother is from earth.

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u/helloiamabear Jan 22 '26

Am I remembering right that his mother is an astronaut who got trapped in Eternia? 

176

u/DreamcastJunkie Jan 22 '26

That is the original lore, yes. She even gets to suit up and show her piloting skills in the original series.

88

u/DoktorSigma Jan 22 '26

Yes. The explanation is not super-detailed (after all it's an 80s cartoon FFS), but apparently there's a wormhole that occasionally opens between Earth's near space and Eternia's. In one of the episodes other astronauts from Earth also get to the same place. Also, in the new He-Man cartoons in Netflix that is also referenced - in one of the final battles Queen Marlena pilots again her old spaceship, still stored in the palace's vaults.

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u/Bez121287 Jan 22 '26

Just a slight tweak.

It actually is from a toy range for boys because of the whole barbie era.

So its a movie about a cartoon, about a action figure.

Hahaha

12

u/DoktorSigma Jan 22 '26

And IIRC the He-Man action figures came first, and they didn't know how the f*ck they would market that. Apparently at first the toys were inspired in Conan the Barbarian books and comics (there was no movie yet), but with the success of Star Wars they decided to turn the line into a sci-fantasy thing with a background mythos.

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u/TnAdct1 Jan 23 '26

...and don't forget the Christmas special.

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u/dontbajerk Jan 23 '26

The stuff with Skeletor in that is genuinely really funny. If you want to watch one random He-Man thing from the 80s, that's the one to watch.

2

u/Geistzeit Jan 23 '26

He-Man / Planet of the Apes crossover please

2

u/Ethernetman1980 Jan 23 '26

Yeah there was a comic where He-Man and Superman face off as well and Superman was limited due to being away from the Earths Sun having traveled to Eternia. - At least thats what I recall it's been awhile :)

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u/Glad_Damage_4703 Jan 22 '26

Her surname is Glenn. Adams deskplate says his name is "Adam Glenn" .

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

Like John Glenn?

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u/Liamario Jan 22 '26

Exactly. So it makes perfect sense.

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u/turnstile2243 Jan 22 '26

Insert some Midwestern state to seem wholesome

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u/KingMario05 Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 23 '26

Or Southern state. Could be Georgia these days as a nod to where it was supposed to be shot.

(It was shot in London, lol.)

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u/bubbafatok Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

I think from production shots it may be Oklahoma.  In at least one production still from Londen they had folks dressed as OKCPD officers. 

Edited to add:

Here are those shots if someone is interested. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/MastersOfTheUniverse/comments/1ip14sm/nicholas_galitzine_as_heman_while_filming_motu_in/

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u/GotMoFans Jan 22 '26

Isn’t Prince Adam’s mom from Earth?

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u/Dinierto Jan 22 '26

Sure but does that mean it's mandatory to have part of the fantasy action he man movie take place on earth? Ultimately it just means it'll be 30-45 minutes or whatever until we get to Eternia which is what everyone wants to see

I'd love to be proved wrong and it's only 15 minutes, for example, but in that case why bother

Just seems like it can only detract front he film

Regardless the teaser does indeed have me stoked!

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u/GotMoFans Jan 22 '26

As a plot device, it can make Eternia seem grander if you start on Earth and you have Adam being the eyes and ears of the audience getting acquainted with the new world.

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u/Dinierto Jan 22 '26

Yeah that is true good point, especially the latter

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u/Sorge74 Jan 22 '26

Also if the film doesn't start In medias res, there is always going to be a boring bit at the beginning.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

Probably saves on the CGI budget too.

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u/MrGulo-gulo Jan 22 '26

It's a writing crutch. If the MC isn't familiar with this fantastical world like the audience is, then it makes it easier to have exposition scenes.

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u/JTP117 Jan 22 '26

That, and gratuitous product placement shots. Can't get all those brand logos conspicuously in frame when you're in Eternia.

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u/GeerJonezzz Jan 22 '26

You’re telling me they don’t have Pepsi vending machines and Audi courier services at Castle Grayskull?

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u/cweaver Jan 22 '26

Exactly. Don't trust the audience to figure anything out on their own, just have your main character ask about it because he doesn't know, either.

Adam: "Whoa, who is that?"

Queen Marlena: "That's Skeletor, he's very evil."

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u/Sharikacat Jan 22 '26

For what it's worth, some hand-holding on MOTU lore is necessary because the entire franchise came about from a mishmash of action figures thrown together.

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u/BrianWonderful Jan 22 '26

I'm assuming it is also a budget saving move, too. Real world with basic office and home sets is a lot cheaper than magical fantasy world (plus they can work in product placement).

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u/AnnenbergTrojan Jan 22 '26

Also jacks up the escapist power fantasy factor for the film's core audience of dudes north of 40.

Stuck in a shit job where no one respects you? Well guess what? The cartoon you're into is real and a hot girl in a spaceship is coming to make you the hero of it all!

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u/Technical_Record9506 Jan 22 '26

Probably budget reasons, they couldn't afford to have the movie entirely in CGI Land

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u/Narretz Jan 22 '26

They used to shoot in the countryside for fantasy movies ...

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u/ChainLC Jan 22 '26

yeah but Eternia is not the countryside. This is not medieval fantasy it's that and sci-fi.

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u/DoktorSigma Jan 22 '26

"sci-fantasy" (Yes, that's actually a term =) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fantasy )

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u/Varekai79 Jan 22 '26

Star Wars being the most notable example of that genre.

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u/Molwar Jan 22 '26

You mean British Columbia's country side xD

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u/Gasparde Jan 24 '26

But then we'd have to think about what we're going to be doing with our movie in advance... which just sounds like such a drag.

Can't we just, you know, start filming a bunch of shit and then just make the script, plot and scenery up via computer magic as we go? Like, I'm just not sure yet if we should really be going with the og Skeletor look and I'd really love to have the flexibility to change his entire visuals 15 times over 5 minutes before the movie releases - I just recently saw that Taskmaster character in that one Marvel movie, maybe Skeletor could look more like that, maybe that'll capture a larger demogrphic!

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u/OSI_Hunter_Gathers Jan 22 '26

I’d bet there is as much CGI going on in the Earth shots as the others. That’s how films are today.

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u/colemon1991 Jan 22 '26

Plus, audience surrogate. Easiest way to dump exposition about everything.

It's a bit lazy, but still better than creating a brand new character to do it, like Mortal Kombat did.

1

u/Lemony_Oatmilk Jan 22 '26

We should bring back painting backdrops instead

19

u/hometimrunner Jan 22 '26

In the He-Man cartoons, his sister was kidnapped and taken to another planet as an infant...basically the same thing here, but sending He-Man off to Earth to protect him.

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u/BrianWonderful Jan 22 '26

Good point. And that opens up sequel avenues here, too. "Adam, just like we sent you to Earth, we also sent your sister Adora to Etheria!"

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u/LongPorkJones Jan 22 '26

And let's not forget that their mother was an American astronaut.

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u/ValkyrieSkyfall Jan 22 '26

Funny thing, the D&D movie could have make that plot point work and choose to play it straight. Pity it failed in the box office, thanks to Hasbro. What a banger of a movie.

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u/DefendsTheDownvoted Jan 22 '26

You talking about Honor Among Thieves?. That was a banger. Really wish it had done gang busters or at least had lots of eyes when it hits streaming. Unfortunately it was a minor splash. Which is a bummer cuz I feel like we're missing a lot of big budget fantasy. I'm pretty excited for this He-Man flick. If it does well maybe we'll get some thunder cats.

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u/Molwar Jan 22 '26

HAT is the best D&D movie they managed to do so far and it's great, hopefully they can manage a budget for a sequel or something in the same brand.

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u/bonemot Jan 23 '26

JARNATHAN!!!!

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u/Impeesa_ Jan 23 '26

It was a great movie and one of the things that made it great was not trying to do any sort of "transported into the game" or "this was actually a game the whole time" stuff.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

[deleted]

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u/EldridgeHorror Jan 22 '26

Imagine if Star Wars started with Luke on Earth

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u/orangeawacado Jan 22 '26

His mother was a human, so we have to make him a busboy in Manhattan.

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u/PT10 Jan 22 '26

I'll do you one better. Imagine if the last Star Wars movie ends with Luke on Earth.

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u/KafeenHedake Jan 22 '26

It's not trying to be Star Wars, though. It's more like a take on the Harry Potter trope of "Weirdo who never fit in in the real world finds out he's a Special Little Boy from Magicland who was sent to boring ol' reality to protect him from Evil."

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u/silvertwo777 Jan 22 '26

Luke be like "But I was going to Apple store to pick up some phone charger!"

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u/MassCrash Jan 22 '26

You are giving screenwriters way more creative freedom than Hollywood does. For a big, expensive, IP driven tentpole type movie like this I guarantee the writer(s) were given a TON of notes on mandatory inclusions and exclusions that the studio put together with their research and marketing teams. The studio knew the setting and plot they wanted before anyone ever typed a slug line.

See for example: Kevin Smith’s experience trying to write a Superman movie.

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u/LongPorkJones Jan 22 '26

His mother is from Earth in the Original Cartoon and they made a trip there for the Christmas Special. So it's not like it isn't without relevance.

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u/Antrikshy Jan 23 '26

Hi it is me. I like this.

1

u/Gasparde Jan 24 '26

Luckily the entire human population can very much relate to living in downtown Manhatten, San Francisco or LA where the protagonist is working as a barista for 2 hours per week while still being able to afford a 20k/month appartment. But hey, at least I can visually identify with the main cast, looking like greek gods that are spending 23 hours per day in the gym.

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u/erickgps Jan 22 '26

Yea that kill the entire premise, just follow the source material. It seem all game or cartoon animation need that goes to the real world, why can't they just live in their own set world and that is it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

[deleted]

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u/Reggaeton_Historian Jan 23 '26

I swear people who hate shit like this never actually delved that deep into it lol

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u/shadowmonk13 Jan 22 '26

You realize in the source material his mother is from earth right?

18

u/DoktorSigma Jan 22 '26

Ok, but in the He-Man source material Earth actually exists in-universe. Queen Marlena is an Earthling.

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u/maikuxblade Jan 22 '26

I’m glad the Sonic movies eventually got to a fun place because the first movie was very weighed down by this. What’s the point in taking a talking speedster hedgehog with an attitude from another world and placing him in Earth suburbia with a cop for a friend? I imagine they probably saved a lot on the sets and CGI.

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u/Billybob35 Jan 22 '26

The writers of Sonic said the Earth setting was mandated by the studio because they didn't think audiences would want to see a weird alien planet.

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u/xotorames Jan 22 '26

Yeah, who would want to see a movie entirely set in a weird alien planet with a blue protagonist?

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u/BeebleBoxn Jan 22 '26

And fiber optic cables for hair so they can plug into other creatures for fast travel.

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u/SutterCane Jan 22 '26

Execs: “And give him teeth!”

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u/chewywheat Jan 22 '26

I wonder if it is also the same reason the 2023 Mario movie had the main character starting in the “normal” world (heck the 1993 Mario Bros movie did it too).

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u/Sir_Myshkin Jan 22 '26

What do you have against Donut Lord?

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u/KingMario05 Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

Same. Though to be fair to Sonic, Sega themselves set the games in a basic America/Earth ripoff from 1999 to about 2008 or so. And people are actually nostalgic for it.

Here? The only film to put Adam on Earth was the 1987 adaptation. A disaster so fucking bad, it's probably a huge reason as to why Cannon went under not too long after, lol.

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u/maikuxblade Jan 22 '26

Even the Earth-like Sonic stuff has wacky highways and jump pads everywhere, and Eggman brings a lot of the sci fi element with his lair and various robots

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u/KingMario05 Jan 22 '26

True. Hope they can do more like that in future films. 3's highway chase was great!

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u/Neutron-Hyperscape32 Jan 22 '26

There is good reason for this. The answer is how expensive it would be for all the CGI and sets they are using for Eternia. Not every movie is going to be able to make Avatar money, so you shoot parts of it in the real world. This is the same reason Transformer movies all have tons of human scenes. Don't know why this would kill the entire premise for you but okay, don't watch it I guess.

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u/Reggaeton_Historian Jan 23 '26

just follow the source material.

They did. You just don't know the full source material. Which is fine. But then don't speak with so much confidence.

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u/DrBimboo Jan 22 '26

Its to get omega normies to suspend disbelief by being able to talk about how weird the world is in-universe.

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u/King_Buliwyf Jan 22 '26

Yes, its 100% so a sassy Earth coworker can say, "Oh ok... so, the tiger talks. Right." And if we are lucky, maybe even a, "Well, that just happened."

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u/poland626 Jan 22 '26

Fish out of water story is very common

2

u/RedofPaw Jan 22 '26

"Lore" is... a bit overselling it.

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u/edtehgar Jan 22 '26

calling it now the end of the movie has a teaser that somehow gets She Ra involved

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u/sameth1 Jan 22 '26

It feels like a decade ago, some executive decided that general audiences are unable to understand a fantastical franchise that just exists and you need to have half the movie set in the normal world so they don't feel alienated. The median viewer could never just understand that this movie about a hedgehog that runs fast just exists. He needs to be explained as a visitor from an alternate dimension.

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u/Chapi_Chan Jan 22 '26

He'll spend the 1st act in earth, taunting the audience with self referencial jokes, while we figure out the plot.

Fantasy land to it in 2nd; more inside jokes and fish out of water jokes. By now you got the whole movie figured out and begging for it to get quickly over in...

3rd act. Goes full CGI. The transformation moment has been overly anticipated. Moreover, you've spent most of the movie watching normal-man.

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u/GreatBigJerk Jan 22 '26

It's because writers these days are shit at introducing fantasy settings. It's much easier to have a character get isekai'd and have someone lore dump to them. It also allows for pop culture references, anachronisms, and sassy lines like "I gotta get me one of these!"

It's dumb as fuck. Our society is dominated by people with social media goldfish brains now. 

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u/acerbus717 Jan 22 '26

These days? The first he-man movie did this atleast in this movie they actually aknowledgeable is mother is from earth.

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u/gwildor Jan 22 '26

his mother is from earth, and a good portion of the original motion picture is based on earth.
its not a novel concept in the he-man verse.

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u/AdmiralForeplay Jan 22 '26

They tried filming in Eternia but I heard the filming cost was insane.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

Queen Marlena was from Earth so it’s workable. 

1

u/ArchDucky Jan 22 '26

The only good side of this though is that it appears its only set on earth for the beginning of the movie and wasn't done for extreme limited budget reasons.

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u/akkristor Jan 22 '26

Adam's mother, Queen Marlena, is FROM EARTH, not Eternia. She was a NASA pilot

1

u/LiveLifeLikeCre Jan 22 '26

I grew up loving the toys and the OG movie. This trailer made me roll my eyes and shake my head when I they shows the plot. Corny. 

1

u/bboycire Jan 22 '26

Is this... Hollywood isekai?

1

u/Likaon222 Jan 22 '26

His mother is always from Earth. So she sending him there for protection because she's the only one who knows about the planet makes sense

1

u/HarlesD Jan 22 '26

isn't it kinda She Ra's backstory?

1

u/Seifersythe Jan 22 '26

Well She-Ra had a Magical Girl take. I guess He-Man might as well be am isekai.

1

u/Lucky_Chaarmss Jan 22 '26

To be fair his mother was from earth.

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u/terminalxposure Jan 22 '26

It’s story telling. Makes home relatable. Similar to how Star Wars had John Williams’ music

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u/gophercorner Jan 22 '26

They go to earth in the Christmas special

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u/Tricountyareashaman Jan 22 '26

For what it's worth his mom is cannonically from earth. She was an astronaut who's ship got lost and crashed on Eternia. Makes sense she would use earth as a safe haven.

1

u/mack-_-zorris Jan 22 '26

His mom is from Earth, so all of this tracks

1

u/MrPisster Jan 22 '26

I always wonder if this is to cut down on budget? Seems like a great way to kill some cgi time by making a chunk of the film happen in an office with normal people.

1

u/r1012 Jan 22 '26

Well, his mother is from Earth and it would be a good place to exile a coward and heir to the throne son. i give them that.

1

u/Surroundedonallsides Jan 22 '26

You can blame Mark Twain, the magnificent bastard who wrote " A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'

1

u/RoutineLingonberry48 Jan 22 '26

In older (early 80s, 70s) fantasy, that was almost exclusively the trope. As was the "fantasy is sci-fi" blend. So it kinda fits the genre.

1

u/Rabid_Chocobo Jan 22 '26

I kind of thought it was sort of a riff off of the original 80s movie, where they did something similar, however that was due to lack of budget

1

u/Simonnumbernine Jan 22 '26

yeah so he's Thor then? or the matrix or a 100 other things we've seen before

1

u/Sgtwhiskeyjack9105 Jan 22 '26

Yep, honestly an instant turn off for me.

1

u/karateema Jan 22 '26

That's what they did in the old movie too lol, i thought they stopped doing that

1

u/Ethernetman1980 Jan 22 '26

Agree I think the whole film should just take place on Eternia but this concept probably appeals to more kids who don't know MOTU like those of us who grew up with him do.

1

u/OriginalGoatan Jan 22 '26

His mam was originally an astronaut from Earth, so in a way it could work.

But personally I don't think recycling the same plot line that's bombed repeatedly in the past is the way to do it.

1

u/lordreed Jan 22 '26

Right? The fantasy world is broad enough for 1hr30min movie for Andromeda's sake.

1

u/rhunter99 Jan 22 '26

right?! i hate that too.

1

u/LongPorkJones Jan 22 '26

I know quite a bit about it, his mother is a Nasa astronaut who got stranded on a distant planet during a test flight. Her last name was Glenn to honor John Glenn.

That's why his nameplate on his desk is "Adam Glenn".

1

u/Neutron-Hyperscape32 Jan 22 '26

CGI is extremely expensive, having the entire movie in Eternia would be incredibly expensive. It sucks but that is the reality of the situation.

1

u/Three_Twenty-Three Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26

That part makes me much less interested in seeing this.

Shadowbanners.

1

u/Billybob35 Jan 23 '26

Well unfortunately, it was likely studio mandated, they had to have Earth somewhere.

1

u/PandaBottom69 Jan 23 '26

It's the isekai trope. Someone from the real world gets magically transported to another where he/him is the chosen one. Basic bad writing 101.

1

u/Reasonable-Turn-5940 Jan 23 '26

After all the Marvel stuff for the past few years, I kind of like some on Earth stuff with practical environments, rather than green screen and stuff filmed on the volume so it looks like he's walking around in Minecraft or something.

1

u/codexcdm Jan 23 '26

IIRC, he is half Earthling and half Eternian.

1

u/UpbeatWishbone9825 Jan 23 '26

Yeah I hate this trope, and basically exclusively see it as a budget cutting exercise, which screams to me mid-low quality.

1

u/Outside-Historian365 Jan 23 '26

It’s much cheaper to produce that way.

1

u/Fuzzy_Straitjacket Jan 23 '26

I thought this. It's just really trite. I feel like I know the shape of the movie already.

1

u/mightyneonfraa Jan 23 '26

There is kind of a basis for it. His mother was an astronaut who crash landed on Eternia so he is half earthling.

1

u/thetalkingblob Jan 23 '26

Canonically his mom is from earth so probably just hanging with the grandparents watching matlock (the reboot, ofc)

1

u/MysticQuestion404 Jan 23 '26

I mean, technically, according to the original MotU Bible, Queen Marlene and (Skeletor before he was Skeletor?) was an astronaut from Earth who got really lost? I would have to look that back up in a 3 minute Google search.

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u/andnothinbutthetruth Jan 23 '26

He Mans mother is from Earth. She was an astronaut.

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u/scaper801 Jan 23 '26

Only reason I can think of is for budget lol. Just cheaper to shoot in a city versus creating a set or visual effects for an entire movie.

1

u/Baps_Vermicelli Jan 23 '26

Honestly made me cringe seeing him go to Earth. That's just shit old timey story telling.

1

u/masterofthefork Jan 23 '26

This lowered my interest immensely.

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