While they have both been dominant presences in their respectiveStar WarsandStar Trekfranchises, Mark Hamill andWilliam Shatnerhave never worked together on a movie to TV series. That is now changing as Shatner was revealed to be a new addition to the voice cast of Kevin Smith’sMasters of the Universe: Revolution. While Hamill is returning for the second season of Netflix’s franchise sequel/reboot in the role of Skeletor, there has been no confirmation of who Shatner will play in the series, but it already has fans stoked for the new episodes.William Shatner was expected to appear atSan Diego Comic-Confor a special “Shatner on Shatner” panel. However, he took to the stage early as part of the Kevin Smith orchestratedMasters of the Universe40th anniversary panel, which looked at the legacy of the franchise from its original conception as an 80s toy line and supporting cartoon to present day. Among the guests appearing on the panel was Dolph Lundgren, who, despite many efforts to bring He-Man to life on screen, remains the only actor to play the muscle man in a live-action movie, and there were a number of toy reveals and information on the other Netflix animated seriesHe-Man and the Masters of The Universe, which is heading into its third season.However, when it comes toMasters of the Universerevelations, the announcement of Shatner’s involvement was the biggest of the panel. Smith surprised fans as he introduced Shatner to the stage and, with a clear sense of joy, said:
“We got lucky this season. We got an icon, another icon, to join us on Masters of the Universe and take the trip with us to Eternia. As we all know, Masters takes place on Eternia, a planet at the center of the universe far off in space. We actually got a guy who went to space.”
Related:Mark Hamill Brings Skeletor to Life in Masters of the Universe: Revelation BTS Video
Masters of the Universe: RevolutionWill Feature More He-Man
One of the biggest early criticisms of Kevin Smith’sMasters of the Universe: Revelationseries was that he effectively removed He-Man in the opening episode. Many fans were annoyed that the first part of season one focused more on Teela and other characters, but considering this was one season broken up into two parts, when part two arrived, He-Man returned and all was mostly well, although there were still those not completely satisfied with the result of Smith’s labor of love.
Although the series still divided the original cartoon series’ fan base, as is part of the territory when reviving or rebooting a 40-year-old franchise, the show was generally well received and has warranted a new “miniseries’ ofRevolution, which will continue the story whereRevelationleft off. As just one of theMasters of the Universeprojects happening at Netflix, there is plenty to come for fans of the franchise to embrace and critique in equal measure.
