166: Masters of the Universe (1987)

166: Masters of the Universe (1987)

From The Nextlander Watchcast by The Nextlander Watchcast

February 2, 2026 · 2h 21m · Episode 166

About this episode

The episode critiques the 1987 film 'Masters of the Universe', discussing its creative choices and potential.

The final film in our slate of toy commercials turned cinema is arguably the roughest watch yet. Specifically, we all argue that maybe Masters of the Universe with Dolph Lundgren and a rubber Skeletor COULD have maybe been something watchable, if only every single creative choice were different, and better. Then you might have something! CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 166: Masters of the Universe (1987) (00:00:16) - Intro. (00:02:51) - Where did we land on He-Man as kids? (00:14:10) - On the toys themselves, and the delightful weirdos who made them. And a bit on Filmation. (00:21:14) - How in the world did this movie happen? (00:43:37) - Somehow, there was almost a direct sequel to this. (00:48:55) - Break! (00:49:18) - We're back, and this is way too grand an entrance for what we're about to see. (00:59:52) - This man, this is not my kind of He-Man. (01:04:11) - Skeletor has won, but thankfully there's exactly one man who can save us: a weird little inventor guy. (01:13:30) - We can go anywhere in the universe, we end up in 1980s Southern California. (01:22:54) - These things just happen, you know? (01:30:59) - Skeletor breaks it down, and things start…

People in this episode

Host: The Nextlander Watchcast

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Filmation

Books & works: Masters of the Universe

Places: 1980s Southern California, Eternia

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