The Insane Behind-the-Scenes Chaos That Nearly Destroyed the 1987 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Movie

When fans talk about the 1987 Masters of the Universemovie today, the conversation usually revolves around Dolph Lundgren's He-Man, Frank Langella's unforgettable Skeletor, the campiness, or the fact that much of the story takes place on Earth instead of Eternia.

What doesn't get talked about nearly enough is that the movie barely made it to theaters at all. The production was a constant battle against shrinking budgets, financial disasters, studio instability, canceled shooting days, and the very real possibility that the movie would never be finished.

Looking back at the oral history from the people who made it, it's honestly kind of amazing that Masters of the Universe has a beginning, middle, and end.

Because there were moments when even the filmmakers weren't sure that was going to happen. The warning signs were already there before cameras started rolling.

The film landed at Cannon Films after producer Ed Pressman shopped the project around Hollywood. Warner Bros. was interested, but Cannon offered more money and ultimately won the bid.

At first, that probably sounded like a great deal…. then reality set in.

By the mid-1980s, Cannon Films had developed a reputation for producing ambitious genre movies on tight budgets. At the same time, the company was starting to experience serious financial trouble.

Director Gary Goddard quickly found himself trying to make an epic fantasy adventure while the ground underneath the production was constantly shifting.

“Those guys were crazy. And they were running out of money. They were having their problems,” recalled Mattel executive Joe Morrison.

Goddard added: “They were going out of business slowly. So there were always challenges. That was a movie where practically every day there was a challenge.”

Most filmmakers would've cracked under that kind of pressure, but Goddard found inspiration from an unlikely source. He explained:

“But what got me through it was Bob Fosse's movie All That Jazz. I would get up in the morning, take a shower, look in the mirror and go: It's Showtime [laughing] just like his character did. Then I would walk out the door, buck up and go on that set and say, ‘okay, let's go, everything's good.’“

That became the attitude that carried the production forward because if the cast and crew had known how bad things really were, things could have unraveled quickly. One of Goddard's biggest accomplishments wasn't directing the film, it was keeping morale alive.

“Gary did a great job of protecting us,” said Chelsea Field, who played Teela. “I don't think that we ever knew any of it; that Cannon was running out of money.

“We knew that the shoot was going on for a really long time, but we didn't have any idea how bad things were. And it was probably good that we didn't know, because there would have been a revolt from the actors. So Gary really did a great job of protecting us.”

While the cast was focused on fighting Skeletor's forces, Goddard was fighting a completely different enemy with the movie's budget. The situation got so bad that production nearly collapsed multiple times.

One of the biggest issues came from conflicts surrounding ownership of the movie's designs and artwork. Production designer William Stout remembered tensions escalating after Mattel representatives began discussing the toy potential of various designs being created for the film.

“Well, one of the big issues that occurred during the making of them was the art department and I were working away and the people from Mattel were walking through the offices.

“And one of the guys was going, he pointed at a picture, ‘oh, that's going to be a great toy.’ And then another guy, he pointed to a different picture, and said, ‘no, this one is gonna be an incredible toy.’

“And I stopped them and I said, ‘Gentlemen, you hired me to design this motion picture. You did not hire me to design your next year's toy line. I own the rights to all of this material.’ And they just went white, they panicked.

“They threatened to shut down the film eight times. Trying to get me and the rest of the designers to sign agreements giving up our rights.”

Not exactly the kind of production situation filmmakers dream about hearing. Yet somehow the movie kept moving forward. And oddly enough, while the financial side of the project was hanging by a thread, the people making the movie were having a fantastic time.

Many members of the cast and crew remember the experience feeling more like summer camp than a troubled production.

“He was like the counselor and we were like the campers,” Chelsea Field said about Goddard. “We had a ball. It was so much fun. We laughed our asses off every single night and made really lasting relationships.”

Goddard shared the same memory. “It was kind of like a little family. Like a summer camp family. It was great. We used to have these get-togethers, Courtney and Chelsea would organize these things. It was pretty cool, actually.”

Field remembered dinners with cast members and crew gathering after long shooting days. “We used to have dinner parties. Jon, James Tolkein, Robbie and Courtney. Billy Barty of course, he was so sweet.

“And Gary. And Anne Coates, who was the editor. Either at my house, or Courtney's house and we'd all cook. It was really fun. Oh, and Frank Langella too, but he was going back and forth to New York.”

It's one of the strangest contrasts in movie history. A the studio was running out of money the cast was hosting dinner parties. Then the nightmare scenario arrived.

After months of filming, the production approached its climactic finale. There was just one problem, Cannon couldn't afford to shoot it.

The final battle between He-Man and Skeletor was supposed to be the big epic payoff for the entire movie. It was the sequence fans had been waiting for, and Cannon canceled it.

“Together, the cast and crew limped to the finish line,” might sound dramatic, but according to the people involved, that's exactly what happened.

“They were running out of money. They were having their problems. And we needed to shoot a couple of last scenes,” Morrison recalled.

Goddard couldn't believe what was happening. “They weren't going to let us shoot the final battle. How can you have an ending without that final battle between He-Man and Skeletor?”

It's a fair question. Imagine Star Wars ending before Luke blow up the Death Star. Imagine Batman ending before Batman confronts the Joker. Now imagine telling He-Man fans they weren't getting the He-Man versus Skeletor showdown.

Fortunately, one last rescue arrived from Mattel. Morrison explained how the toy company stepped in when everything seemed lost.

“Contrary to some beliefs, Mattel never put up any money for the film. But what we did do was this: I can't remember the exact figure overall, but it was either a million or a half-million that Cannon paid us as a rights fee.

“But whatever it was, they had only paid us half up front. So what I said was, ‘Look, we'll forego the last payment that you owe us if you finish that last scene. Two nights shooting, I negotiated that on the phone with them and we got the film finished.”

Mattel literally sacrificed money it was owed just so the movie could have an ending. Without that deal, the fight scene may have never been shot!

Ironically, the final battle also produced what Goddard believes were some of Dolph Lundgren's strongest moments as He-Man.

“The funny thing is that I think the best lines Dolph delivered in the movie came on that final day when everyone was so exhausted. I said, ‘Just whisper this, just whisper this’ and he says through gritted teeth, in a whisper, ‘It's always been between us.’ It was the perfect tone and energy, which had been the problem all along.”

Goddard went on to explain the challenge he'd faced throughout production. “I mean, the funny thing was that in the rehearsals he would get it; low-energy, but intense. And I would go: that's perfect, do it just like that. Okay, let's roll. Action!

“And he had just said, for instance, ‘I will never kneel to you’ but when the cameras were rolling it was ‘I WILL NEVER KNEEL TO YOU!’ Dolph, do it like you did in the rehearsal: low-energy, intense.

“He'd go uh-huh and he'd nod but then we'd roll the cameras and something in his brain, at that time, was that when the cameras rolled.

“No matter what I did, when the cameras were rolling something in his brain clicked and the energy went up and his voice would suddenly get that booming deep voice, which would emphasize all of his speech issues. I felt like if I'd gotten that out of him for the whole rest of the movie...who knows?”

Against all odds, the film was finally completed. “I was just pleased that we ended up with a beginning, middle and end,” William Stout admitted. “That was kind of a shock to me, because I wasn't sure we had that.”

The movie arrived in theaters on August 7, 1987. It struggled at the box office and critics weren't kind. The planned sequel never happened. Yet somehow, despite every obstacle thrown at it, Masters of the Universe survived.

Maybe that's one of the reasons fans still have such affection for it. This wasn't a movie assembled under ideal conditions. It was a movie held together by determination, creativity, favors, optimism, and a director who woke up every morning, looked in the mirror, and convinced himself everything was going to be okay.

The fact that Masters of the Universe exists at all feels like a minor miracle.

The fact that people are still talking about it nearly forty years later is even more impressive.