Kevin Smith is proud of his product.
Within 24 hours of Kevin Smith’s new animated Netflix series “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” debuting online, the He-Man show appears to have been “review bombed,” with fan reaction veering wildly from the largely positive critical reaction.
As of writing on Saturday afternoon, “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” has a 94% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes from 36 critics and yet a 29% from more than 1,700 fan votes.
So what gives? YouTubers and angry “fans” on Twitter are saying that “Kevin Smith lied” or that the show is a “bait and switch” in an attempt to make the show “woke.” Fans reacted to reviews that suggested the show’s main character isn’t actually He-Man, who was prominently featured in marketing, but is a female character named Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who is also a big focal point of the show’s trailer.- ADVERTISEMENT –
The character Teela does have a more prominent role in the Netflix “Masters of the Universe” series, but Smith said that the backlash is wildly overblown.
“I see people online go, ‘Hey man, they’re getting rid of He-Man!’” Smith told Variety in an interview published Saturday, though conducted ahead of the show’s debut. “Like, you really f—ing think Mattel Television, who hired me and paid me money, wants to do a f—ing ‘Masters of the Universe’ show without He-Man? Grow the f— up, man. Like, that blew my mind, bunch of people being like, ‘Oh, I smell it. This is a bait and switch.’”
