10 Would-Be Franchises That Failed At The First Hurdle

5. Masters Of The Universe

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Once Mattel successfully adapted its Masters of the Universe toyline to the small screen with the iconic 80's cartoon series He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, it didn't take long for the toy company to set its sights on creating a feature film based on the exploits of the heroic strongman in a loincloth, He-Man. Master schlock-makers, Cannon Films, opted to bring the property to the big screen in the hope that a new franchise would be born. Instead of adapting the popular television series, Cannon decided to directly adapt the comic series that accompanied the toyline. The end product befuddled audiences, as many of the series hallmarks, such as He-Man's alter ego Prince Adam, were excluded. Even the iconic catchphrase "by the power of Grayskull" fell by the wayside. Masters of the Universe failed to recoup its budget and the sequel-baiting ending, which showed the nefarious villain Skeletor (played by Frank Langella) surviving his apparent onscreen demise, never delivered on its promise to bring audiences more He-Man starring adventures. Cannon Films, knowing better than anybody outside of Roger Corman how to stretch a buck, recycled the already made sets and costumes for Masters of the Universe 2 for their low budget Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Cyborg.
Contributor
Contributor

I'm YA writer who loves pulp and art house films. I admire films that try to do something interesting.