According to a new report from TMZ, noted toy designer Roger Sweet passed away on Apr. 28 at the age of 91. His widow of 40 years, Marlene Sweet, shared that he passed away peacefully in a care facility after a long battle with dementia.
Sweet is best known as the creator of the legendary action-figure-turned-animated-character He-Man, the main hero in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He was one of the lead designers for Mattel’s Preliminary Design department throughout the 1970s and 1980s, making his name largely through the stories of He-Man. He originally created these characters to compete against the Star Wars franchise, which reached an early high point in the late ’70s and early ’80s after the releases of Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back from Lucasfilm.
During the character’s early rise to fame, Mattel teamed up with director Gary Goddard to produce a live-action He-Man film based on Sweet’s characters, which was titled Masters of the Universe. Centered on Prince Adam and his loyal allies, this group chased the villainous Skeletor and a mysterious dimensional key into the real world and teamed up with human teenagers to stop Skeletor in his quest to get the key.
Currently, director Travis Knight and Amazon MGM Studios are in the final stages of preparation to release a new Masters of the Universe movie, which will reboot the characters for a modern audience on Jun. 6. Starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, the cast also features Jared Leto as Skeletor, Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-at-Arms, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, and Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress. This film will center on Adam getting the Sword of Power back and returning to Eternia, teaming up with new friends to take down Skeletor and become the most powerful hero in the universe.
Sweet’s battle with dementia became an emotional story, as his widow started a GoFundMe page to help pay for her late husband’s care facility costs, which were over $10,000 per month. Marlene urged fans to help support her in caring for Roger, whose health had been declining steadily over the last few years.
Marlene also told TMZ that she is reaching out to Amazon MGM Studios in an attempt to dedicate the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie to Roger after his passing. While trailers for the film have teased an exciting new interpretation of Sweet’s characters, his death is sure to have a major impact on the greater He-Man fandom. With just over five weeks until the film is released in theaters, this news will unquestionably drive many to revisit Sweet’s work and support his characters on the big screen.
We at MovieWeb send our deepest condolences to Roger Sweet’s family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
