Kevin Smith Reveals How He Really Felt About Working On Masters Of The Universe: Revelation - Exclusive

Nostalgia is a powerful thing — perhaps even more powerful than the most powerful man in the universe. 

While critics have given their stamp of approval to Netflix's "Masters of the Universe: Revelation," the fans beg to differ. It seems there's been a flux of negative review-bombing on Rotten Tomatoes triggered by a seemingly underwhelmed fanbase. Are some of these scathing reviews justified? Or is it just an irrational temper-tantrum fueled by internet fanboys jumping on the bandwagon? You be the judge. 

The man who is taking a brunt of this unique social media fury is showrunner Kevin Smith, who is well aware of how passionate and fiery fandom can be. During an exclusive interview with Looper, he chimed in on the risks and pressures that come with working on a beloved property like "Masters of the Universe."

"It's one thing to f*** up a 'Jay and Silent Bob' movie. You only piss off Jay and Silent Bob fans. Here, you run the risk of pissing off people who are like, 'I don't know who you are, but you f***ing ruined my childhood!'" Smith told Looper. "I know how toxic people can be. I don't think it necessarily comes from a place of hate; it comes from a place of love. People love s*** so much, they take it personally. I've seen it for years growing up in sports. People like to treat sports, like it's real or some such s***. Now, pop culture is being treated like that: movies, TV, cartoons. It's very tribal and it's very like, 'Hey man, this is mine and it identifies me and if you f*** it up, you're f***ing ruined!' and blah, blah, blah, blah. So going into it, man, I knew that was always a possibility, but I'll be honest with you. I never once thought about like, 'Are we doing the right thing?' Because of the circumstances of the job."

Much like Cartoon Network's 2002 reboot, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," Smith feels that every iteration of the show "adds a spoke to the wheel. His version is the next in line and, one day, someone else will come along and get to play in the sandbox just like he did — and perhaps they'll embrace and utilize some of his own contributions to the mythology. 

"[He-Man's] not mine," Smith said. "Jay and Silent Bob, I can do whatever I want with, from time immemorial, but He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, I was lucky to get to play with them for the time that I did. Hopefully I get to do it again one day, but even if I don't, I'm telling you, I'm not overstating it. This is, no hype, one of the most magical f***ing experiences I've had in this business. One of the most collaborative, one of the most artistically satisfying. I've watched this show so many f***ing times. Like over the course of the last 18 months that we've been producing it, and it still makes me emotional. I still cry when main characters die, even though I know it's coming and that's the power of the characters themselves they've been around for so damn long. So, we're just presenting them the way they're presented."

And for the naysayers, who either shunned or still haven't quite embraced "Revelation Part 1," Smith has been teasing the aforementioned He-Man versus SkeleGod battle on his Twitter, and he also teased Looper about what's next to come. "I promise you 'Part 2,' if you like 'Part 1,' f**k—you'll love 'Part 2.' 'Part 2' is brilliant compared to 'Part 1.' 'Part 1' is a lot of fun but wait till you see what happens in 'Part 2.' It's nuts."

"Masters of the Universe: Revelation" is now streaming on Netflix.