Should the New He-Man film have ANY Connection to Earth?

[Neutro]

(Especially after seeing and loving Transformers...)
Just curious since I agree with those who feel that the films that recognize Earth's existence increases the viewer's intimate connection to the film by adding that sense of realism, even when the rest of the story is quite unreal...

And BEFORE you decide, I don't necessarily mean the type of connection to Earth as was used in the first live-action film, the whole "Battle on Earth" idea which is definitely NOT what I want to see in a new He-Man film, rather I would like the connection to be that Marlena is in fact a young pilot from Earth that crash-lands on Eternia... Or possibly some other reboot connection to Earth like, but not necessarily, the one rumored about Adam being a pilot who crash-lands-on/comes-to Eternia to save it from the evil Skeletor and his technological(-or-not) army of mutants....

Personally I think they ought to try and stick with the original concept of having Marlena from Earth, but maybe just tweaking it slightly, like say she gets sucked through some time/warp portal that originates on Eternia but opens up on the other side somewhere on Earth just at the right moment, say as Marlena is piloting a test run for the u.s. air force when she suddenly vanishes into thin air, say in the midst of the Bermuda Triangle....?

Or maybe you have some different connection to Earth in mind, maybe one that is only hinted at in the film...?

Or maybe you adamantly oppose ANY type of connection to Earth...?

So what're your thoughts? Yes? ...No? ...Maybe? ...Don't mind either way?

[Dr. Omega]

No. No Earth.

Marlena is too minor of a character to get into her back story.

Just let Eternia stand on it's own for this film.

LOTR didn't need an Earth tie-in.



Dr. Ω

[KILLER-CLONE]

This is a no-brainer. Answer: no. no. and no.

MOTU is high-high-fantasy. Why set any of it on Earth? MOTU belongs on Eternia. Just as Star Wars belongs in a Galaxy Far Far Away and LOTR belongs in Middle Earth.

[Orko's Magic Hat]

I voted yes.

Earth shouldn't be mentioned in the first movie, nor the second, this all depends if the film becomes a trilogy.

In the final movie, Queen Marlena should say where she came from (Earth) and tell He-Man about how she came to Eternia. I'm not saying bring the movie all to earth, but just mention a bit to leave the viewer thinking, He-Man is half earthling. The specifics of when or which time on earth don't need to be revealed.

As a kid I often watched movies not set on earth and wished it all happened in real life (Star Wars), if a kid is watching MOTU, it would give that feeling that all thats happenining on Eternia and He-Man has a link to earth somehow and can happen in real life. Its all about imagination.

And the other point is, the property is called Masters of The Universe, so including other planets, dimensions, galaxies other than Eternia is a must.

[Neutro]

And the other point is, the property is called Masters of The Universe, so including other planets, dimensions, galaxies other than Eternia is a must.

Good point.

[widget hunter]

Hey guys. I think a movie would be great, but think of the possibilities a live action television series could have. Sure the special effects wouldn't be as grand as the cinemas, but with, say an hour long weekly show, think of the character development and backstories they could include. Think of the great series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" it outshined the movie it was based on, i think due to the evolving of the characters. That would be nice to see with He-Man and the Masters, with a lot of nostalgia thrown in like the 2000comics had.

[Jack T. Chance]

I think Earth can be tied in, ONLY if it can be done in a plausible way, i.e. it's the far, far future, mankind has colonized other planets in our galaxy, and Eternia is one of those planets. But as for any of the MOTU characters being from Earth... I'm more iffy on that. Why does Marlena need to be from Earth? Or Adam? To me, it's enough to say that the humans of Eternia are descended from the original human colonists. Nothing more than that is really necessary, IMHO.

No. No Earth.

Marlena is too minor of a character to get into her back story.

Just let Eternia stand on it's own for this film.

LOTR didn't need an Earth tie-in.



Dr. Ω

This is a no-brainer. Answer: no. no. and no.

MOTU is high-high-fantasy. Why set any of it on Earth? MOTU belongs on Eternia. Just as Star Wars belongs in a Galaxy Far Far Away and LOTR belongs in Middle Earth.

You're both wrong, though, in regards to LOTR. If either of you had actually researched Tolkien and his work, you'd know that Middle-earth IS Earth... thousands of years in the past! The name Middle-earth wasn't even created by Tolkien. It's a modern English transliteration of various ancient names for the Earth, from various cultures. In fact, it's the modern English equivalent of the Norse name for the Earth, Midgard. Of course, Tolkien was really into history and languages. As a linguist, he even based his invented languages on real languages from European cultures. If Elvish sounds familiar, it's because it's based on a real language. I think the end of the Third Age (the time period of Lord of the Rings) is supposed to be roughly 6,000 years ago. Just like Robert E. Howard's Hyborean Age (the era in which Conan's adventures take place) is Howard's imaginary ancient Earth of about 12,000 years ago!

Now, of course, with MOTU being Science Fantasy, you could always give it the ultimate Science Fantasy twist, which is that this story, seemingly set in a distant, forgotten past, is actually taking place in Earth's far FUTURE, thousands of years from now, when our present day is the past that mankind has forgotten!

Anyway, there's different ways to go with it, as long as it makes sense, and isn't as campy as one or more of the characters being astronauts from Earth some... 10 or 20 years from now, or something stupid like that, then I'll probably be okay with it... unless they foolishly do a rehash of the first movie, and have He-Man and company running around on modern day Earth. There's no reason to do that kind of low budget cheese AGAIN. It would surely put the final nail in this franchise's coffin!

[Dave-Man]

Hmm. Don't know on this one. Either way could work. The original series was tied to Earth. The new one wasn't. Both worked.

[Vahn]

Well I certainly don't think it needs to include Earth, I do think that it would be easier to screw things up with it than without. Honestly the most I would want is a hint, like someone mentioning that MARLENA is originally from some far off land that she never speaks of to anyone but RANDOR. That way, if we get more than one movie, the sequels could explore this hint or not, depending on how much other stuff there is to focus on. But just to make things easy, I voted:

NO.

@ KILLER-CLONE: Wouldn't MOTU be considered low-fantasy since it's more about the frequent battles between warring factions than some epic quest to retrieve a sacred artifact and fulfill destiny and all that?

[plasmapulse]

What would be the point to include earth. I mean, what's so damn important about earth, or interesting. There is no need to explain any humanoid characteristics or anything in eternian mythology.
And the 'planet of the apes' effect, being set on earth itself in the far future (or past for that matter) would be just terrible.
There is much storytelling to do, even in a trilogy. Too much to make earthly plottwists/connections IMHO. Motu is out of this world in every aspect. I hope it stays that way forever and ever.

People still can use their imagination I hope and don't need a familiar reference point like earth to feel it's "real" or could be real. Or am I totally missing the point here.

So: No.

[Mirage]

Marlena should be from Earth (It's canon. Plus, her Earth origin is one little detail that keeps MOTU from being just another sci-fi fantasy epic.)



Other than that ... No.

[Darth Latveria]

No.

I don't want Marlena from Earth either.

[Megatron]

No.

I don't want Marlena from Earth either.

I agree.

No Earth in the film, no mention of Earth in it and no Marlena from Earth either!

[Optimus Prime]

No Earth. so Marlena was from Earth, that wasn't established immediately in the series, so it's not a plot to worry about.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I would prefer no connection to Earth at all, but if there is going to be one, then at most it should just be Marlena being from earth, and they should just more or less mention it in passing. It shouldn't be focused on as some major plot point.

[JVS3]

I'd be all for it starting out on Earth with Marlena, with her in a futuristic space program.
Then it quickly puts her into a mission and gets her lost on Eternia.

I dunno. I just think for a movie like that, some sort of earth connection would be good.
And that's a connection that's not excessive.
It just serves as a gateway into the movie, and helps anchor us around a character to introduce us to others.

Sure, Marlena being a focus wouldn't be great.
But it could work if they do it right, and never make Marlena our primary focus to start with.

I'm just free-thinking out loud at this point...

[Tallstar]

I voted 'on the fence', but after thinking about it for a bit, I've decided that I wouldn't mind some kind of Earth reference. I would want the movie to be set on Eternia though.

[Skeletorfan]

I agree.

No Earth in the film, no mention of Earth in it and no Marlena from Earth either!

Totally agree!

No Earth please. Isn't that why a lot of fans hate the original movie?? I personally don't want Earth or any mention of it.

[Neutro]

I'd be all for it starting out on Earth with Marlena, with her in a futuristic space program.
Then it quickly puts her into a mission and gets her lost on Eternia.

I dunno. I just think for a movie like that, some sort of earth connection would be good.
And that's a connection that's not excessive.
It just serves as a gateway into the movie, and helps anchor us around a character to introduce us to others.

Sure, Marlena being a focus wouldn't be great.
But it could work if they do it right, and never make Marlena our primary focus to start with.

I'm just free-thinking out loud at this point...

That's the kinda thinking! Works for me...

I would want the movie to be set on Eternia though.

Most Definitely.

Totally agree!

No Earth please. Isn't that why a lot of fans hate the original movie??

I believe the main reason was the fact that it "took place" almost entirely on Earth, when most fans were excited and wanted to "see" Eternia.

[chuc98]

I'm on the fence about this one. One one hand it's interesting how characters such as Evil Lyn and Beast Man were transformed from human beings into what they are by the power of a planet. On the other hand it's also interesting to have a completely alien world in some distance reaches of space. Either way is ok.

[Premiere Heroes]

Only to reference that Marlena is a pilot from Earth that crash-lands on Eternia. It can be either Marlena and Randor telling Adam(later Adora) or spending only a few minutes showing the journey.

Other than that the focus would be on Eternia and the other characters.

If Orko is brought up and mentioned that his is from Trolla, I think it can be mentioned that Marlena is from Earth.

Henceforth the title “Masters Of The Universe.”

[Predabot]

I'd like there to be some small hints about he-mans mother being from earth, yeah sure. But keeping it at a hinting level I think, is quite enough.

[Orko's Magic Hat]

Hinting at an earth connection would be good, not set on earth in any way.

[Uki]

I still like the idea that Marlena (and only Marlena, not BiffBeastman and that ilk) was from Earth. I said yes, but only on that line of thinking.

[Slackbot]

I voted no.

If the connection was as minor as Marlena being from Earth, I could deal with that. But if they mentioned that factoid in the movie it would come across as a puzzling red herring unless you explained more, and then it would grow into a bigger red herring (red snapper?) or develop into a plot point. In a movie they only have so much time for so much plot, and I don't want it to be wasted on something as minor as Marlena's origin or as major as dragging the Masters to Earth to eat ribs and save on set costs. Keep the focus on Eternia and the Eternians and leave Earth out of it!