Both Barbie and Masters of the Universe are movies based on wildly popular toys. But beyond that obvious comparison, the creators of this summer’s fantasy epic are hoping some of that cinematic magic that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie conjured in Barbieland will rub off on Travis Knight and Nicholas Galitzine’s journey to Eternia and beyond. Barbie‘s irreverent tone and meta-narrative appear to have been particularly inspirational when it came to informing He-Man’s latest adventure.
In a new Entertainment Weekly feature, producer Jason Blumenthal spoke about working with Amazon MGM Studios’ head of film, Courtenay Valenti, on Masters of the Universe—and how her expertise as an executive producer on Barbie helped shape the new movie.
“Courtenay said, ‘I think I can make lightning strike twice.’ She just did it with Barbie. She understood the market. She understood the nostalgia factor. She understood storytelling,” he said.
Another crucial piece of the puzzle was another Barbie veteran: producer Robbie Brenner, who’s also the president of Mattel Studios and its chief content officer.
“People didn’t know exactly what [Barbie would be before they saw it],” she told EW. “Is this movie for girls? Is it for young girls? Older? But no, it’s [for everyone], and Greta Gerwig said that from the beginning.”
Brenner explained that Masters of the Universe is also for everyone, even if they don’t realize it at first. “People don’t know exactly what it is. ‘It’s got this kind of weird, crazy tone to it. Is it Guardians [of the Galaxy]? What is it exactly?’ But what’s so incredible and unique about it is, in a world where we have so many sword-and-sandal movies, or so many things that feel so similar, this really has a singular and authentic and unique look and feel and voice and humor.”
She continued, noting that the movie “doesn’t take itself too seriously. We’re living at a time where everybody is very serious about everything. There’s a lot going on in the world…. It’s just funny, and it’s fun and not insulting. And it has everything wrapped up in one, which I think is so exciting, and so different about it. That’s what makes it bold, and that’s what makes it interesting.”
Will Masters of the Universe become a breakout hit the same way Barbie did? We’ll find out if lighting can indeed strike twice when the movie releases June 5.
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