While the new Masters of the Universe movie struggles at the box office, the version of He-Man that fans actually grew up on is getting some good news.
He-Man archivist and Filmation expert James Eatock has revealed the first details of a forthcoming Blu-ray release of the classic 1980s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series, this time from NBCUniversal, a set he says he personally contributed to. A release date has not yet been announced.
Finally Coming To The U.S.
The acclaimed remaster of the Filmation series already exists, but until now it has largely been a German import.
Germany’s Plaion Pictures released the upscaled, restored episodes — first in the massive “Eternia Collection” boxset and later as individual volumes — but those discs were Region B and difficult for U.S. collectors to get, often fetching steep prices on the secondary market.
An NBCUniversal release would finally bring that restoration work to American shelves, which is exactly what the stateside fanbase has been waiting for. Eatock credits the corrections to a collaboration between Plaion and himself.
What’s New In This Set
According to Eatock, this is the most accurate version of the series ever released, with a number of meticulous fixes. The highlights he revealed include:
- The entire series plays at its original NTSC speed, with no more flawed NTSC-to-PAL conversions
- The early Westinghouse-era Filmation logo has been restored to the first 18 episodes of He-Man
- All six sets of end credits across the 130 episodes are now present and correct
- The missing scene in “Diamond Ray of Disappearance” has been re-inserted
- Both theatrical specials, The Greatest Adventures Of All and Skeletor’s Revenge, are included
- The stereo track for The Secret of the Sword has been painstakingly restored
One thing worth clarifying for collectors: this is a high-quality upscale of the original masters rather than a brand-new HD film scan.
Eatock and most fans who have seen the prior Plaion work consider it the best the series has ever looked, but it is a remaster and restoration effort, not a 4K rescan of original film elements.
The Right Timing
There is a certain irony in the timing. As the big-budget reboot lands as one of the year’s notable box office disappointments, the original cartoon — the thing the devoted He-Man base has loved for forty years — is the one getting a definitive treatment.
For longtime fans, that may be the Masters of the Universe news that actually matters this month. We’ll update when NBCUniversal announces a release date and pricing.
