His film, “Masters of the Universe”, is the second live-action film based on the popular toys, following the Dolph Lundren-starrer film of the same title in 1987.

In the film, actor Nicholas Galitzine plays the popular role of Prince Adam aka He-Man, a character who has a fan following all over the world including India.

As a filmmaker, Knight, who previously directed the “Transformers” spin-off film “Bumblebee,” said it was important for him to understand what made the toy franchise such an enduring cultural phenomenon.

“Whenever you’re thinking about adapting any type of property, whether it’s a book, a video game, a toy line or a cartoon, it’s important that you understand what was special and unique about it to begin with.

“Ideally, the people who are involved in making that adaptation are passionate and love the material,” Knight told PTI in a virtual interview.

The director said that he has loved the world and characters of “Masters of the Universe” since his childhood.

The director said, “I loved these things growing up… and the same was true with a lot of our cast and crew, who had their own history, who grew up with these characters. I think you can feel that when you watch the film, there’s a joy, there’s a passion.”

“Masters of the Universe” follows Prince Adam, who is living on Earth as a normal man with a corporate job. He is drawn back to the fictional planet of Eternia by the power of the sword, only to discover that his homeland has been devastated under the rule of Skeletor, played by Oscar winner Jared Leto.

To save his family and restore his world, Adam joins his trusted allies and accepts his destiny as He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe.

Knight said that the new film draws from various iterations of the franchise, including the 1987 live-action film, but does so selectively to create a cohesive narrative.

“Internally, it’s extremely inconsistent in terms of mythology and origins and lore, it’s all over the place. So, you have to choose a path, you have to decide what is the story we’re telling and how can we tell it in the best way?”

“But it was important to me and many of my colleagues that we honor the legacy of this incredible world by drawing from different versions of the IP in a thoughtful and tasteful way.”

At a time when filmmaking is often driven by trends, Knight said he prefers to focus on storytelling rather than outside influences.

He said, “I think trends come and go. At the end of the day, it’s not something I can influence in any way. The only thing I can try to do is tell a compelling story, make a movie that has heart, is fun, has incredible action sequences and that makes you feel joy.”

“I’m proud that we succeeded, whether a movie comes out and is successful or not, or whether the trend of movies is successful or not, that’s completely out of my control. I can only try to control the movie that we made, and I’m very proud of it,” the director, who is also the founder and CEO of stop-motion animation studio Laika, said.

“Masters of the Universe”, which released in India on Friday, also stars Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin and Kristen Wiig.

Sony Pictures India has released the film here in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

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