Revolution Was Kevin Smith’s Geek Dream

Masters of the Universe: Revolution continues Kevin Smith’s reboot of the He-Man cartoon series of the ‘80s, and as well as bringing back many of the voice stars of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, this time around there is a true cinematic icon on board in the form of William Shatner.

The series debuted its first five episodes on Netflix on January 26 to mostly positive reviews. Before the premiere, Smith spoke to SFX Magazine about his return to Eternia, and that included discussing his joy at being able to get Shatner, best known for playing Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, and series regular Mark Hamill, aka Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker, acting opposite each other in the show. Smith said:

“I had moderated a panel or two with Mr Shatner, so he’s weaved in and out of my life. Or rather, I should say I’ve weaved in and out of his life!” says Smith. “When we were talking about casting the role, his was the first name that came up. I said, ‘If we do this, then Captain Kirk and Luke Skywalker will act opposite each other. Like, we’ll have them actually chewing the scenery around each other.’ And for an old-school pop culture junkie from the ’70s like myself, that would be worth the journey alone.”

William Shatner Plays Keldor in Masters of the Universe: Revolution

While Smith was initially keeping Shatner’s role a secret, on the day of the premiere, Shatner himself posted a video on his X account celebrating his arrival as Keldor, the long-lost uncle of Prince Adam and brother of Eternia’s ruler, King Randor. In various stories, Keldor eventually becomes Skeletor, which is something that Revolution brings into its narrative after initially giving Skeletor his original Mattel origin. Check out Shatner’s video revealing why he joined the franchise below:

When it comes to working with a legend like Shatner, Smith told SFX that the actor is not exactly what you would expect a 92-year-old to be like. He explained:

“The great William Shatner is 92 years old, and when one thinks of 92-year-olds, you don’t think of somebody who drives themselves around and then rushes things along. Bill was the guy who pulled up in his own car, and reminded us that he didn’t have all the time in the world. He’d be like, ‘Let’s get this moving. I’m 92, I could go at any moment, let’s start recording. My time is more precious than yours!’ It’s all tongue-in-cheek but also very real at the same time. It was absolute bliss.”

Masters of the Universe: Revolution seems to have learned from its predecessor that fans really want to see He-Man in the show, and unlike Revelation, which sidelined Eternia’s hero for most of its episodes, Revolution has definitely put the mighty sword-wielder back in his rightful place.