''The Trials of Darksmoke'' is a 2013 fantasy-adventure

fan film A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more ...

based upon

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

franchise. It is the third and final film in a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

that includes The Wizard of Stone Mountain and The Fountain of Life. The film was directed by John F. Carroll during the Winter and Spring of 2012 around

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

. The film ties together several plots that have run throughout the trilogy. The Wizard, Malik,

He-Man He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...

, She-Ra and their friends journey throughout Eternia attempting to stop the evil Skeletor. The film was set to debut at Grayskull Con 2013 in Germany in September 2013, followed by Screenings at Power-Con 2013 in Los Angeles and the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. However, due to longer than expected post-production, the film was delayed until 2014. The film will be free to view online and will begin streaming sometime in late 2014.

Plot

The evil Skeletor has released an unspeakable demonic power and with it, he will conquer

Castle Grayskull Castle Grayskull is a fortress located on the fictional planet Eternia. It forms a central location in the ''Masters of the Universe'' toy/comic/animation universe and also appears in the 1987 live action adaptation. The concept is credited to ...

and the rest of the universe!

and She-Ra work against the odds to stop Skeletor while the wizard Malik claims an ancient power bestowed by the great dragon Granamyr. But will the cost be too great?

Cast

* John F. Carroll as Malik *David McCullars as

*Chris Romani as

Evil-Lyn Evil-Lyn is a supervillainess in the Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''. An evil witch who aids Skeletor as his second-in-command with her powers of darkness. She is va ...

*Javier Smith as

Keldor Skeletor () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of the protagonist He-Man. He is typically depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid who wears a purpl ...

Zodak Zodac () is a fictional character, a cosmic superheroic entity in the Masters of the Universe mythology. The spelling varies between Zodac and Zodak in different sources (until the two were later defined as separate characters). In a unique c ...

*Bethany Harbaugh as

Teela Teela is a fictional superheroine from the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise. She is the Captain of the Royal Guard at the palace of Eternos and thus responsible for training and protecting Prince Adam of Eternia. While Adam is He-Man, Teel ...

*Bridget Farias as Kareen *Richard Dodwell as Kyros *Joseph Fotinos as

King Randor King Randor is a fictional character, a warrior king who appears in the popular 1980s ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise. In early material, the character is called King Miro; this was later given in the Filmation cartoon series as King Rand ...

*Bob Swaffar as King Miro *Emily Hampton as

Princess Adora She-Ra, real name Adora, is a fictional superheroine in the 1985 Filmation series '' She-Ra: Princess of Power'' and its 2018 reboot ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power''. A series of toys under her name was produced by Mattel in 1984. Her fi ...

, She-Ra * Parker Danks as Chad *Robert Berry as Grandfather *Juli Dearrington as The Sorceress *Andrew Brett as Skeletor *Elisabeth Raine as Rayna *Laura Cannon as Myrna *Ben Scott as Man-At-Arms *Taylor Basinger as Giaus * Björn Korthof as

Prince Adam He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...

* Johnny Bilson as

Tri-Klops The ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' franchise debuted in 1982 with the creation of American company Mattel and the toyline of the same name. This is a list of characters that appear in the toyline, television series ''He-Man and the Mast ...

*Peggy Schott as Queen Angella *Briony Zakes as Frosta *Lee Wilson as

King Grayskull King Grayskull is a fictional character first introduced in the 2002 animated series ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''. In 2021, the character was introduced in the '' Masters of the Universe: Revelation'' animated series which has no c ...

*Darwin Miller as Eldor *Kenneth C. Liverman as King Ragnar * Dean Stefan as Elder in Council of Elders * Dan Eardley as Elder in Council of Elders * Danielle Gelehrter as Elder in Council of Elders * Rob Lamb as Elder in Council of Elders * Jukka Issakainen as Elder in Council of Elders * Jon Kallis as Elder in Council of Elders * Joshua Van Pelt as Elder in Council of Elders *James Eatock as Elder in Council of Elders

Production

''The Trials of Darksmoke'' and '' The Fountain of Life'' were shot simultaneously during the winter and spring of 2012. With pick-up shots scheduled for Winter 2013. The films were shot digitally, using two DSLR cameras—A Canon T2i and a

Nikon D7000 The Nikon D7000 is a 16.2-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) model announced by Nikon on September 15, 2010. It replaced the D90 as the top end consumer camera, by using much of the technology and controls from the earlier D5000, ...

. A riverbed in Walnut Creek Park, a location that had been used in the previous films in the series, collapsed after a rainstorm in April 2012http://www.kvue.com/news/Tons-of-rock-collapse-onto-hike-and-bike-trail-in-North-Austin-148611145.html and was repurposed for other set locations.

Reception

The film is currently in post-production and will premiere in the Autumn of 2013.

Sequels

''The Trials of Darksmoke'' is part of a

that includes ''

The Wizard of Stone Mountain ''The Wizard of Stone Mountain'' is a 2011 fantasy-adventure fan film based upon Mattel's Masters of the Universe franchise and '' Faust'' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The film was directed by John F. Carroll and Russell Minton during the summ ...

'' and '' The Fountain of Life''. ''The Trials of Darksmoke'' is the third and final film in the trilogy.

References

* * *

External links

*
The Trials of Darksmoke Facebook PageInternet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trials of Darksmoke Films shot in Austin, Texas English-language films Fan films