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Masters of the Universe

Masters of the universe

the pitches

Chris Sully

Chris Sully

Title: He-Man and the masters of the universe
Directed by: guillermo del toro
Starring: Sam Heughman (Prince Adam), Travis Fimmel (Skeletor), Helen Mirren (The Sorceress), Jack McBrayer (Orko), Kurt Russell (Man-at-Arms), Alexandra Daddario (Teela), Ron Perlman (King Randor), Connie Nielsen (Queen Marlena)

The movie begins with a glimpse into the daily life of a teenage boy on the planet Eternia.

Prince Adam, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena is at the table with his Mother and sister in a home-school meets midieval times (not the family dinner theater chain) setup. Sitting near the table is Cringer, He-Man’s giant cat and favorite companion.

Queen Marlena announces that they are done learning for the day and may be excused.

Prince Adam and Cringer leave the castle and begin a journey across the vast courtyards of Castle Grayskull (their home) to meet with the Sorceress. He had long been more interested in the magical teachings she made available and was always eager to learn a few new tricks. Orko, a long-time friend from the extradimensional world of Trolla who had found himself stranded on Eternia during a cosmic storm, is already there trying out and totally botching another spell he had come up with.

While chatting with the Sorceress, Man-at-arms bursts through the door and announces that the castle is under attack. Prince Adam is shocked at the news. In his life he had been in many skirmishes with people outside the castle, but never had anyone dared to attack Grayskull. He dashes to the armory and grabs a sword and shield and heads to the castle walls. A large army is seen just outside the gates. At the front of the group, we see a floating barge-like carriage with a throne atop. And in that throne, a hideous creature made of muscle and bones, wearing a armor and carrying a huge staff with a skull of some sort attached to the top.

Prince Adam watched as the royal army opened the front gates of Grayskull and marched out to meet this mystery skeleton man and his army. The royal army was known for its superior skill and had a history of laying waste to any foe who dare cross King Randor and Queen Marlena, so there was no need to worry about the outcome. Prince Adam actually found it amusing that this skeleton man would even get close to the castle and was already picturing the 100 different ways he would be killed when he saw the unthinkable. A light shot from the staff of the mystery character and dozens of the royal army were blown back through the castle gates, several of them killed instantly and the rest horribly wounded.

Prince Adam turned to rush down to the gate but only got a few steps before he saw the Sorceress standing a few feet away. In a tone and seriousness that Prince Adam had never heard before, she shouted a few words of a spell and they were transported to her chambers along with Cringer, who of course had not left his side.

“Quick – we have no time to discuss this. There is a great secret that your parents and I have kept from you your entire life. I have prepared for this day since before your birth and must act quickly.” She raised her arms high and began to chant. Moving her arms around in a ver specific pattern, uttering words Prince Adam had never heard before. She moved faster and faster, got louder and louder for the next minute or two and then BAM! A huge sword appeared before her, floating in the air. She looked at Prince Adam and said “take it and….” POOF – she was gone. Just as she vanished, he was reaching out to grasp the sword and with her disappearance it fell toward the ground, but not before he could catch it’s weight and hold it in front of him.

There was silence. The Sorceress was gone, but where? He stood there for a minute and then turned to head back to the main gates. As he reached for the door, Orko appeared. “The Sorceress has been taken…..” Orko didn’t finish what he was going to say. He looked down at the sword that Adam was carrying and said “Thank the Gods! She got it to you in time. Come with me.”

Orko, Adam and Cringer returned to the castle walls to see the skeleton man and his army ride off into the distance, with the Sorceress held captive aboard his floating barge. Prince Adam moved as if to leap down to the lower level and Orko stopped him. “You can’t Prince Adam! She’s gone. You can’t go after her like this.” It took all his might to hold Prince Adam back. “You aren’t powerful enough!”

Orko then guided Adam and Cringer to the main throne room. King Randor and Queen Marlena both reacted to Prince Adams presence in the same way Orko did – with a Thank the Gods! response. Then, they began to tell Prince Adam of a plan many years in the making. The sword held magical abilities and could only be activated by the chosen one – in this case Adam. To access these powers, he need only raise the sword and utter a few words.

[INSERT Amazing transformation sequence here!] “By the Power of Grayskill – I have the Powerrrrrrrr”

Prince Adam transformed into He-Man for the first time and, at his side, Cringer became a fierce Battle Cat, complete with saddle and armor. Then, the montage of Mom, Dad and Orko explaining the plan, complete with custom song (not recorded by Sting) and He-Man testing his new sword and power on inanimate objects of all sizes. He DID have the power now.

Fast forward to He-Man approaching Snake Mountain on Battle Cat, with Orko, Man at Arms, Teela & a variety of action-figures-turned-live-action-heroes at their side. They storm the castle, enter Skeletor’s throne room (yeah – we learned his name from some villagers by this point) and an epic battle ensues. He-Man eventually overcomes Skeletor (but doesn’t kill him). They free the Sorceress and return to Grayskull.

There’s a giant feast and then all seems right in the land, but of course there is the impending threat of Skeletor, should he (well, when he) raises another army and tries to attack again.

At the end of the film, we see Skeletor limping from the throne room, out a secret door behind the throne and down a long corridor. He eventually enters another, very different looking door, and pulls himself into chamber that quickly fills with smoke and lights. As the chamber closes, the camera pulls back to reveal that he is actually inside of a space ship. And on the outside of that ship, some familiar logos.

Big reveal: We see King Randor and Queen Marlena back in their room at Castle Grayskull. Queen Marlena pulls a photo from a chest at the foot of her bed and she holds it up to King Randor as she speaks. “Did you see it? – His staff! It looked just like his tattoo.”

King Randor responded “Yeah – only Keldor could have known about that skull with the horns here. Nothing like that exists on this planet. It couldn’t be a coincidence.”

On this planet?

Keldor?

Tattoo?

We then see the photo up close and quickly piece it together. The royal couple are actually Randy and Marlene, members of a lost Mars expedition led by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Their ship had veered off course and was thought lost, but it turns out the ship was pulled into a Black Hole just outside the Milky Way and thrust across the Universe, where it crash-landed on a planet they eventually named Eternia. They thought the rest of the crew had died as well, but in the photo we see another man, with a tattoo. The name on his uniform reads “Keldor.”

Title: Masters of the Universe
Directed by: matthew vaughn
Starring: Jesse plemons (prince adam), Cara Delevingne (Princess Adora), Michelle Pfeiffer (Queen Marlena), Gerard Butler (King Randor), Mads Mikkelson (Keldor), Milind Soman (Duncan), J.B. Smoove (Orko), Sandra Bullock (Rival Basketmaker)

Since the return of twin sister Adora, hero of The Rebellion, and conqueror over the Evil Horde, Prince Adam has been hiding out far away from Castle Grayskull and his royal family. Disguised as Fred Normal, a local Eternian merchant, Adam has strived to become a master basketweaver, though his rival in the neighboring stall of the weekend bazaar continually outdesigns and outsells the prince.

Along with cat Cringer and friend, retired soldier Duncan, Adam spends his days practicing new weaving techniques and his nights drinking, often stumbling to the local King Grayskull statue to question how he could descend from such greatness and yet be so worthless. Then rumors spread that Adam’s father King Randor has taken ill, and Uncle Keldor, a menacing blue-skinned character with a shady past, is next in line for the throne.

Summoned by Orko, Castle Grayskull’s dimwitted magical court jester, Adam returns to the royal castle to visit his dying father. Princess Adora is angered over Adam’s absence and the knowledge that their mother Queen Marlena has unashamedly involved herself with their Uncle Keldor under their father and king’s very nose.

The king is stricken silent, unable to speak with his family, but Adam senses their collective embarrassment of the cowardly royal son. Adora confesses she doesn’t trust the potential new king, but there’s nothing they can do to stand in his way. That evening, King Randor dies, and his brother Keldor takes the throne, Marlena now his queen.

Months pass, and Eternia is in a lowly state. They’ve been thrust into war across the universe, dispersing the population, driving others to poverty. It is clear that Keldor is a tyrant, and he’s called in a personal army of miscreants to protect him and his interests. Keldor rules with an iron fist, and his people are suffering. Basket sales are down, though Adam’s rival somehow continues to profit.

Adam’s friend Duncan, now too old to fight in the Eternia military, wants to initiate a rebellion and overthrow their new king, seating Adam in his place. Adam, more concerned over his basket business, is afraid to fight, but he’s mostly afraid to be the ruler of Eternia, living in the shadow of his father and ancestor, the great King Grayskull.  

With his sister away in battle, Adam becomes the reluctant leader of the rebels. He trains with Duncan in swordplay and hand-to-hand combat, but he’s fat and clumsy, a terrible warrior. Duncan, however, is a great strategist, and they manage to coordinate attacks that cripple Keldor’s army and aid the people of Eternia. Orko even manages to pull off a spell or two, but the rebellions is short-lived. Adam and his friends are captured and imprisoned in Castle Grayskull.

Prince Adam is visited by his mother while in jail. She wants him to know that she’s sorry for what has happened and that his father was proud of him. Her behavior is strange, as if she’s struggling to say what speak. Unbeknownst to the guards, she secretly passes him a book.

Adam discovers it was his father’s diary, and that King Randor was exhausted by wars of the past and encouraged his son to choose a different path. He wanted him to follow his own dreams, hoping he could save him from the misery of conflict and eternal threat to the kingdom. As Adam reads more and more, he finds evidence that his father believed Uncle Keldor was using magic to weaken him and Queen Marlena. Adam now suspects that Keldor killed his brother and entranced the queen.

Earlier passages from the diary reference a Sword of Power embodied by the soul of King Grayskull, one destined to be wielded by the true king of Eternia, one who can bring peace to the universe. With Orko’s help, he and Duncan escape to find a hidden chamber containing the magic sword. Adam struggles to lift it, hoping it will transform him into a great warrior, but nothing happens. Duncan points out an inscription on the hilt. Adam casually reads the words: ‘By the power of Grayskull,’ and becomes super muscular, his hair and outfit changing to suit his new barbarian bulk.

Adam tells Orko to find Adora and tell her of Keldor’s treachery. A sequence of fights begin as Adam and Duncan tear through the evil army. When they reach Keldor, they are overwhelmed by his magic. Adam loses the sword, and when Keldor takes it and speaks the magic phrase, his skin is torn from his body, leaving nothing but a skeleton. Despite his disfigurement, he is more powerful than ever before and intends to kill Adam when Adora appears with Orko. She overtakes the tyrant king, and Adam recovers his sword. Together, brother and sister defeat Keldor, freeing their mother of his enchantment and bringing peace to Eternia.

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episodes

10 comments on “Masters of the Universe

  1. Ed Pogue says:

    JACK MCBRAYER as orco is perhaps the best casting choice I could think of good idea.

  2. Jessica Ganzhorn says:

    Ron Perlman as king randor is perhaps the absolute best idea I can think of because anything with Ron Perlman in it is great

  3. Karma S. says:

    You had me as DIRECTED BY: GUILLERMO DEL TORO. There it is! Stamp it official. Can you imagine the visionary set with Del Toro’s magic touch? Now I must watch Pan’s Labyrinth.

    1. Divina Martinez says:

      I’m down with Matt’s casting. MICHELLE PFEIFFER, GERARD BUTLER, J.B. SMOOVE , SANDRA BULLOCK.

  4. Elizabeth Keyes says:

    I think I’d have to go with Matt’s cast with Mads Mikkelson and Michelle Pfeiffer! Though Helen Mirren is always a great choice too 🙂

  5. Santiago Alcala says:

    Why can’t you guys just be in barge of making these remakes.

  6. Dario R. says:

    I’m going to have to give the nod (by a slight margin) to the Del Toro directed film. I can definitely see Sam Heughman as Prince Adam and Alexandra Daddario as Teela.

  7. Gonzalo Cruz says:

    If this is directed by Guillermo Del Toro, you got my green light!

  8. Nader Michael Hanna Al-Shaikh says:

    You had me with the casting of the dynamic duo of guillermo del toro and Ron Perlman. Also Kurt Russell this cast is going to be pure magic…..make this happen!!!!!!!

  9. Maria K says:

    I’ve been a Jesse Plemons fan since Friday Night Lights, the more stuff he’s in, the better. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, CAN’T LOSE! and of course Texas Forever!

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