A new Masters of the Universe film is now out in cinemas – nearly four decades on from the original 1983 cartoon series and 1987 film.

For audiences who grew up in the 1980s, nostalgia alone may be enough to drive them to the theatre. Indeed, such reboots are often dismissed as attempts by modern studios to make a quick buck using “nostalgia bait”.

But while nostalgia is part of it, it’s not the whole story. In fact, many beloved 80s characters were deliberately created as part of franchisable intellectual property (IP) ecosystems, spanning toys, TV and merchandise.

In other words, they were never just characters or toys. They were designed from the outset to be profitable, across a variety of contexts, for decades.

A merchandising empire

Before Marvel built cinematic universes, companies in the 80s were creating commercial worlds centred around children’s toys. Remember Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, the Care Bears and the Smurfs? These characters and stories were all carefully designed to sell merchandise and generate ongoing production opportunities.

Prior to the 80s, toys were generally created only after a highly successful cartoon had been released.

But this changed in 1977 with the release of George Lucas’s hugely successful original........

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