The Easter Eggs You Missed in the ‘Masters of the Universe’ Trailer

But as a boy born in the 80s with a He-Man themed home office, I wanted to focus on something different: Easter eggs! For fans with long memories, the trailer is filled with nods to the original toys and He-Man’s intricate lore. If you want to be “able” to appreciate all the nerdy nods and heroic homages, read on to discover the coolest Easter eggs in Masters of the Universe!

The witch hiding in plain sight

The trailer opens with us seeing a colorful bird flying through the fantasy world of Eternia. Later she reappears, still above everything and everyone. Considering how much of this trailer focuses on swords and sorcery, you might be wondering why this bird (which doesn’t even look like a robot bird) stands out so much.

The answer is, it’s not just a bird: it’s the witch, who (at least in the original novel) master of the universe Comics) is the mysterious guardian of Castle Grayskull, who can transform himself into a falcon at will. She was an important part of the early series’ story, and in the early comics she was Teela’s secret mother. When she’s not in bird form, the Witch is played by Morena Baccarin, who (after starring in two movies) dead Pool and Gotham) is no stranger to colorful genre storytelling.

common origin story

A major legend changed master of the universe The trailer casts He-Man as a native Eternal who was sent to Earth to protect himself in the form of Superman. This never happened in the original comics, although the show did It’s revealed that He-Man’s mother was originally from Earth. If the movie didn’t change that fact, it would make sense that she would send her son to a familiar place where he could find a cushy email job instead of fighting for his life during a brutal attack on the palace.

Speaking of which, the trailer heavily hints that the violent attack on the kingdom we see in flashbacks is the reason Malina sends her son to Earth. We never see who is leading these attacks, but it’s likely the Skrulls; in the 2002 animated revival, He-Man and the Masters of the Universewe see that Skeletor was once a regular guy (albeit a blue one) named Keldor, who attacks the palace and attempts to throw acid at Captain Lando. The future king deflected the attack, and the acid severely disfigured Keldor, transforming him into the evil Skrull.

That’s probably why they cast Jared Leto as the villain: to have him play the handsome Keldor before he turns into a cruel monster. My theory is that he leads the attack in the trailer, leading to Malina banishing Adam to Earth, and that he will (as in the comics) be disfigured during the attack. In this way, the film will tie together He-Man and Skrull’s origins in a way the series has never done before.

Great things about Big Jim

One interesting detail we learned about He-Man’s time on Earth is that he became a true geek, hyper-focused on swords and sorcery. Which is probably why he ends up in a nerdy toy store, tugging at the sword held by a barbarian statue. While that statue itself is a cool Easter egg (more on that later), there’s something rather innocuous lurking in the background: a Big Jim toy box.

Big Jim is important to He-Man’s history because Mattel ended up reworking some old toy designs for their own Masters of the Universe figures. The most famous example is Battle Cat (He-Man’s faithful green tiger) who was originally made from the Big Jim Tiger mold. By including this box in the background of a key scene, master of the universe The movie pays homage to the original Mattel toys that helped bring He-Man to life in the first place.

He-Man meets his own toy

The stupidest moment in life master of the universe The trailer shows He-Man trying to remove his power sword from a life-size statue of the Barbarian. Most casual viewers of this trailer simply assumed this was supposed to be a statue of Conan the Barbarian. However, this is actually a statue of Vercor, another character created by original He-Man designer Mark Taylor.

When Taylor first figured out He-Man’s design, he created the character as part of his concept art. Apparently, Mattel used one of Taylor’s other ideas in the final He-Man design, but they ended up turning the earlier design into a character named Valcor, who was reimagined as an early protector of the power sword. Incidentally, the final He-Man design was based on Taylor’s concept for a character named Torak; look closely, and you can actually see the name “Torak” hidden in the trailer’s toy store scene!

A very special release date

final easter egg master of the universe The trailer is hidden where you want to see it most: the release date. The movie is set to premiere on June 5, which seems like a perfect fit for a nostalgic summer blockbuster. Therefore, casual fans have no real reason to believe this date has any special significance.

However, June 5th also happens to be the birthday of Mark Taylor, the aforementioned designer who created He-Man’s iconic look. Taylor didn’t know it at the time, but his brilliant design would eventually change the face of pop culture and toy history. He sadly passed away in 2021, but the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie will be released on what would have been his 85th birthday to honor the legacy of He-Man’s most important creator.