MOTU Origins Snake Lair Crowdfund Campaign
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Revealed at SDCC 2025, the revamped MOTU Origins Snake Lair crowdfund campaign has now kicked off! If you recall, the Snake Lair was revealed at last year’s SDCC 2024, but to mixed opinions, as it seemed that they threw the kitchen sink at it. They say that great things come to those who wait, and boy I am so happy that Mattel listened to the fans and went back to the drawing board. I have to say that after seeing the prototype at SDCC up close and personal, the redesign looked spectacular! This new version of the Snake Lair resembles the original sketches that we as fans all voted on during the Fan Vote back in 2023 and the way it was depicted on the packaging artwork as well! This crowd fund project launches today Aug. 1st and ends August 28, 2025, at 11:59pm PT. If you want to back the campaign, you can back it HERE. Campaign launches at 9am PST today on August 1st!
September 03, 2025 Update: Campaign Ended
Well, the campaign has officially ended with 6576 backers, we fell short of unlocking the High Priest Pythonus. But the great news is that the Snake Lair will go into production and all backers will receive Chimera , and early backers will receive Skeletal Lady Slither. The set is supposed to ship on or before Nov 20,2026. Congratulations to all the backers!
September 02, 2025 Update: Last Chance
With only 4 hours left to go, it’s your last chance to back the Snake Lair! The Crowdfund ends tonight September 2, 2025, at 11:59pm PST. There are currently 6502 backers, and 8000 are needed to unlock High Priest Pythonus. If you want to back the campaign, you can back it HERE.
August 26, 2025 Update: High Priest Pythonus Art Revealed
With the MOTU Origins Snake Lair crowdfund extended to September 2, 2025, at 11:59pm PST, Roy Juarez posted new artwork of the High Priest Pythonus by the talented Axel Gimenez and said “After resurrecting Lady Slither and rebuilding the Snake Lair. The time has come for Lady Slither to conquer The Powers of Grayskull and all of Preternia with High Priest Pythonus by her side.” So if you haven’t backed the Snake Lair yet, you now have a little extra time. As of the update to this article the backer count stands at 6181, not sure we are going to make it. Again we get to see the Powers of Grayskull branding on this!
Taking a close look at the full image you can see the jail cell and iron maiden torture chamber in the background. You can see that this looks like a cave like setting and a set of stairs leading up to the rest of the lair to the right. It’s cool to see what this artwork looks like, so let’s make his packaging a reality!
August 25, 2025 Update: Snake Lair Crowdfund Extended
Roy Juarez dropped some exciting news on his Instagram that the MOTU Origins Snake Lair crowdfund has officially been extended! Collectors now have until September 2, 2025, at 11:59pm PST to get their orders in, which also means there are 7 days left to push toward unlocking the High Priest Pythonus. With the extension, fans who may have missed the original window now have a little extra time to secure this massive playset and help bring that next stretch goal closer to reality. Let’s do this!!!
August 23, 2025 Update: Powers of Grayskull Full Artwork Revealed
With 4 days left, the Snake Lair has funded and now we are at 6089 backers. We need 1911 backers to get High Priest Pythonus unlocked! Roy Juarez has posted the rest of the artwork by Axel Gimenez featuring Eldor standing beneath the High Priest Pythonus riding across on Chimera, but on the other side there is a Snake creature coming up out of the water and the Powers of Grayskull logo! Roy said “Up next…unlocking High Priest Pythonus. Lady Slither needs her Rite-Hand Hench-Sssnake as she begins unleashing her tyranny over Preternia. 4 Days remaining. Save Pythonus by backing at @mattelcreations MattelCreations.com @masters“
August 22, 2025 Update: Eldor Teased on Artwork
With a little less than 5 days left, the Snake Lair has funded and now we have to focus on unlocking the High Priest Pythonus! To celebrate the funding and get us hyped about Pythonus, the Axel Gimenez has posted another glimpse of the upcoming artwork, and this time we got another Eldor tease! You can clearly see Eldor standing beneath the High Priest Pythonus riding across on Chimera! Can Eldor be the next Powers of Grayskull figure coming to the line? Axel said “With the Snake Lair finally conquered, now High Priest Pythonus must fight his own battle!”
August 21, 2025 Update10:25pm PST: 100% Funded!! We did it!
With a little less than 6 days left, at around 10:25pm, PST, the Snake Lair has funded!!! Congratulations to all the backers! This will now go into production. Now we have about 5 days left to unlock the High Priest Pythonus! Let’s do this!!
August 21, 2025 Update: 99% Funded, 9 backers to go! New Art Revealed
With 6 days left and only 9 backers are needed for this crowdfund campaign to fund! WE CAN DO THIS!!! LET’S GO!!! Axel also posted new art!
According to Axel Gimenez on Instagram: ” With 7 days left and only 26 backers more to go, we keep warming up to work on the box art and minicomic (storybook actually) for the very first The Powers of Grayskull playset: Snake Lair!”
August 20, 2025 Update: 99% Funded, 33 backers to go!
With 7 days left and 33 backers are needed for this crowdfund campaign to fund! WE CAN DO THIS!!! LET’S GO!!!
August 18, 2025 Update: 98% Funded, 64 backers to go! Art Teases!
With 9 days left and 64 backers needed for this crowdfund campaign to fund, Roy Juarez posted some sketch teases to upcoming art for the Snake Lair and said this:
Only 9 days remaining and 68 backers more to go! We’re beyond excited to see this project reach the hands of MOTU’s fans…so much so that our creative juices have already begun to take off! Here are a few warmup sketches by Axel!
So let’s take a look at the art work sketches that Axel Gimenez teased us with today! Here we can see Skeletal Lady Slither riding atop Chimera. You can see the progress in the second image with a snake spirit lifting from the Snake Lair in the background.
Here we can see Priest Pythonus riding atop Chimera as well. In the first image he is jumping over some rocks. But in the progress in the second image there is a hairy character lurking below.
And finally the image above in a color illustration. But in this colored image, that additional hairy character is omitted.
August 15, 2025 Update: 98% Funded, 117 backers to go!
The Skeletal Lady Slither Origins Figure early backer bonus has come and gone, and we are so close to funding this. We are so close, with 13 days to go, will this stall the campaign? The Snake lair is currently 98% backed, only 117 backers to go! If you want to back the campaign, you can back it HERE.
August 14, 2025, 9pm PST Update: 93% Funded, 405 backers to go!
It’s 9pm PST and the deadline to back and receive the early backer bonus is fast approaching! There are only have a few hours left for the early bird backer bonus! Fans who back the project by 11:59pm PT on August 14, 2025, will receive the newly sculpted Skeletal Lady Slither Origins Figure! Snake lair is currently 93% backed, only 405 backers to go! If you want to back the campaign, you can back it HERE.
August 14, 2025 Update: Shop Pay, PayPal, and Venmo Options Added, a few hours left for early bird bonus!
The Snake Lair Masters of the Universe Origins crowdfund just got a whole lot easier to back thanks to some new payment options! Mattel Creations has added Shop Pay, PayPal, and Venmo to the checkout process, giving collectors more flexibility when pledging for this epic playset. Whether you prefer the convenience of Shop Pay’s installment plans, the security of PayPal, or the speed of Venmo, you now have multiple ways to lock in your support. With these additional payment methods, fans who may have been holding off now have even more reasons to jump in and help bring this massive Snake Men fortress to life.
Plus remember you only have a few hours left for the early bird backer bonus! Fans who back the project by 11:59pm PT on August 14, 2025, will receive the newly sculpted Skeletal Lady Slither Origins Figure! Snake lair is currently 85% backed! If you want to back the campaign, you can back it HERE.
August 13, 2025 Update: 70% Funded
Fans, we are almost three quarters of the way there, the Snake Lair has it 70% of it’s backer count, with 14 days to left to go! There is 1 day left to get the Early Bird Backer Bonus of Skeletal Lady Slither! So if you want to jump in, do it now as it looks like this project is gonna make it! If you want to get the Skeletal Lady Slither early backer bonus, you need to back the campaign by 11:59pm August 14th! So jump in if you are thinking about getting this! We can do this! Remember, you won’t get charged unless the campaign funds! Let’s do this and make the Snake Lair a reality!
August 11, 2025 Update: 50% Funded
Fans, we are halfway there, the Snake Lair has it 50% of it’s backer count, with 17 days to left to go! We can do this! Don’t forget, if you want to get the Skeletal Lady Slither early backer bonus, you need to back the campaign by 11:59pm August 14th! So jump in if you are thinking about getting this! Remember, you won’t get charged unless the campaign funds! Let’s do this and make the Snake Lair a reality!
August 7, 2025 Update: Images and Information from Snake Lair Live Stream
Mattel Creations has officially launched the crowdfund campaign for the highly anticipated Snake Lair playset, expanding the Masters of the Universe Origins line with a collector-grade offering that brings the Snake Men’s long-awaited fortress to life. The design team, including Senior Director of Action Figure Design Damon and product designer Steve, hosted a live stream event revealing key details about the set, the campaign structure, and the lore behind this sinister stronghold.
Snake Lair was chosen by fans through a Mattel Creations vote, beating out contenders such as the Attack Trak, Fright Zone, Horde Troop Carrier, and Doom Tower. As Skeletor has long claimed Snake Mountain, the Snake Men were overdue for a headquarters of their own—and now, thanks to the MOTU community, their lair is finally becoming a reality.
Skeletal Lady Slither and Priest Pythonis were both designed with rich detail and lore in mind, adding depth to the Snake Men faction. Lady Slither, available only as an early bird bonus, features a mummified, skeletal appearance with a bony articulated tail, rotted soft goods cape, snake staff, and 15 points of articulation with standard Origins modularity; she can also be displayed standing using interchangeable legs. Priest Pythonis, unlocked at 8,000 backers, debuts for the first time in figure form with a new head sculpt, red eyes, non-removable snake headdress, reptilian skin texture, chest harness with the Snake Men emblem, and back plugs to store his sword and accessories. Both figures come in their own collector-friendly packaging, and their storylines will be further explored in the mini-comic included with the Snake Lair playset.
The Chimera, included in the Tier 1 unlock at 6,000 backers, is a deluxe articulated creature designed as Lady Slither’s menacing steed. It features multiple reptilian heads with ball-jointed necks and articulated jaws, allowing for expressive posing and open-mouth displays. The creature includes a saddle for figure placement, as well as articulation in the shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, and a fully poseable tail. The Chimera is finished with premium paint applications and clover spray deco, making it a visually striking addition to the Snake Men army and a key component of the Snake Lair playset’s battle scenes.
The front of the Snake Lair playset features piles of sculpted skulls flanking the drawbridge, including recognizable details like a Cyclops, Buzz-Off, and Beast Man, tying directly into MOTU lore rather than using generic skull designs. Above, a massive snake head towers over the entrance, inspired by Axel Jimenez’s original concept art. The head includes menacing eyes, a bright red interior mouth, and sculpted snakes emerging from both sides. A subtle metallic sheen was added to the stone texture, giving it an ethereal, almost iridescent look when viewed from different angles.
The Snake Lair playset includes several iron-like rings integrated throughout both the interior and exterior, which serve as anchor points for a functional zip line feature. When the two halves of the modular playset are separated, the zip line can be attached between any of the rings, allowing figures to slide across using a clip-on accessory. Inspired by fan speculation and confirmed during the livestream, the zip line adds dynamic play and display options, enhancing the action and interactivity of the set.
The Snake Lair’s tech bay is located in the upper section of the playset and includes sculpted screens and control panels that overlook Eternia, giving the Snake Men a strategic vantage point. Directly above it is a trap door, activated by pressing a stone button, which drops unsuspecting figures into a snake pit below. The pit features flexible snake-like tendrils inspired by a child’s hairbrush trap idea, allowing the snakes to grab and hold onto figures, adding a unique and interactive element to the play pattern.
The Snake Lair includes an Iron Maiden-style torture chamber with hinged doors that open to reveal interior spikes, allowing figures to be trapped inside for play or display. Nearby, the weapons rack is designed with cobra heads on either side and offers two-sided storage for included and additional accessories, enhancing the playset’s customization and functionality.
The Snake Lair features a detailed ladder that can be repositioned around the playset, designed with mixed materials like rope, wood, and snake chain to reflect years of makeshift repairs and wear. The included cannon comes with two hand grips for figure interaction, fires a projectile, and can be moved across the battlefield for both offensive and defensive.
The sides of the Snake Lair feature snake-themed latches designed to resemble wrought iron serpents, which secure the clamshell-style playset when closed. These latches can be popped open to unfold and access the detailed interior, maintaining the classic MOTU clamshell functionality while adding a thematic design element.
Lady Slither’s throne room is located inside the Snake Lair and features a sculpted emerald-like stone wall with her youthful visage carved into it, reflecting her vanity. The room includes gold snake head details, venomous lava flowing down the back wall, and twin snake pylons flanking the area. Her movable throne sits between two golden cobra sculptures and allows her to survey her court.
The Snake Lair playset is fully modular, allowing it to separate into two distinct halves for expanded play and customizable display. This design supports flexible battlefield setups, letting collectors position the sections however they like. The modularity also enables interactive features like the functional zip line, which connects between rings located throughout the playset. Despite its large footprint, the set remains portable and adaptable, making it easy to integrate with other MOTU Origins environments like Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain.
The Snake Lair playset stands 29 inches tall and 28 inches wide, making it slightly taller than Castle Grayskull due to its four tiers of vertical play. When displayed alongside Snake Mountain and Castle Grayskull, the Snake Lair holds a comparable silhouette and footprint, offering a cohesive scale and presence on the shelf or battlefield. Its design complements the existing MOTU Origins clamshell playsets, expanding the world of Eternia with another imposing stronghold for collectors to showcase.
August 6, 2025 Update: Snake Lair Live Stream
Mattel Creations is inviting fans to step behind the gates of a dark and foreboding stronghold with a special livestream event tomorrow at 12:00 PM PT. Collectors can tune in at MattelCreations.com for an in-depth look at the design and development of this sinister fortress playset, offering a rare glimpse into the creative process that brought it to life.
You can check out a cool video of the features of this playset here:
This playset retails for $300. Mattel heard the feedback from fans just after the reveal at SDCC 2025, and some fans showed concerns of reaching the high 10,000 backer goal to get the highly sought after two headed Serpentine Steed, Chimera. So Mattel made some revisions to their backer tier goals. Fans who back by 11:59pm August 14th will receive Skeletal Lady Slither as an Early Backer Bonus! Now the playset needs a minimum of 6,000 backers to fund will now recieve the two headed Serpentine Steed, Chimera as part of the base offering! Then if it reaches 8,000 backers we unlock High Priest Pythonus! There is no longer a 10,000 backers tier! We are so happy Mattel listened to the fans, so let’s try to get this thing over the finish line! Without further ado, let’s check out the MOTU Origins Snake Lair crowdfund campaign.
Here is the interior all fitted out with amazing characters!
Be sure to tune into the Masters of the Universe Origins Snake Lair Playset Crowdfund – Mattel Creations page on August 7, 2025, at 12:00pm PT to get your closest look yet at the Snake Lair.
Official Images
This new set looks incredible! It is the smaller format claim shell version that we all wanted when we voted on it during the Fan Vote back in 2023! If you recall the sketch version that also showed up in many illustrations on packaging art looked like this new Snake Lair 2.0 we see here! like it comes with a two headed dragon steed, a new version of Skeletal Lady Slither and Pythonus!
Here is a view of the interior of this incredible Snake Lair!
Here we can see what the playset looks like in it’s closed position. Also a view of the back side of the closed playset as well.
More views of the incredible figures and creatures that are part of this crowdfund campaign.
Here you can see Skeletal Lady Slither in both her bipedal mode and with her skeletal snake tail.
Some additional shots of the interior action features! Poor Moss Man, he’s getting tortured in multiple photos!
Where you drop a figure thru the trap door he falls on the snake pit and they close up to grab him. And as you can see poor Moss Man is being tortured in the snake pit and the stalks!
There are some many cool action features. Here you can see the trap door and the snake-guarded hatchery through the secret passage!
Here we get to see a close up of Skeletal Lady Slither’s Snake Throne Room!
UNLOCKS
This campaign needs 6,000 backers to fund and will included the two headed Serpentine Steed, Chimera in the base offering! Also, fans who back by 11:59pm, August 14th will receive Skeletal Lady Slither as an Early Backer Bonus!
Then the second and final tier is reached at 8,000 backers, where we would unlock High Priest Pythonus! There is no longer a third tier.
These new figures look incredible and we can’t wait to get additional details on these later this afternoon at the Mattel Panel! This new two headed dragon looks like it was inspired by the vintage Imperial Dragons from the 1980’s! The dragon even has a saddle on it! Pythonus looks great and includes his headdress and dressed in Snake garb!
So remember to back this early so you can get the Skeletal Lady Slither Early Backer Bonus!
Official Product Description
The Masters of the Universe Snake Lair is the fortress of Lady Slither and home base for the Snake Men. It was first featured in Classics Mini Comic #5, “He-Man vs. Skeletor! Their Final Battle!” but was never created in toy form. Now, you have the chance to bring it to life! The MOTU community voted it Eternia’s Choice, and we’ve incorporated fan feedback to shape the design. It’ll feature a throne room for Lady Slither, with a serpentine design exactly to her liking. Unwelcome visitors will be greeted with blasters, snatched up in capture devices, and placed into the iron maiden or snake shackles. This is your one and only chance to get this set. Fund all the tiers and restore Lady Slither’s stronghold to its Preternian glory!
- Masters of the Universe® Origins Snake Lair Playset
- Open Dimensions: 28.46” W x 16.04” L x 29.30” H (72.29 x 40.74 x 74.42 cm)
- Scaled for play and display with MOTU Origins figures
- Also in scale with previously released Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain sets
- Four levels across two sections, sculpted with slithery details throughout
- Use the Snake Staff to unlock the working drawbridge
- From the throne room, Lady Slither can plan her next evil moves
- Harpoon blaster can be positioned throughout the lair or for topside defense
- Telescoping snake head turret pivots and fires a projectile
- Includes weapons rack for Snake Men to defend the fortress
- Features working elevator, extending snake head periscope, and zipline
- Also includes ladder, capture devices, and an iron maiden
- Escape the snake-guarded hatchery through the secret passage
- Premium reinforced closed box packaging for shipping protection
- Each tier unlock comes in its own individual package for display
- Will only ever be available on Mattel Creations through this crowdfund
A minimum of 6,000 backers are needed to start making this set come to life. With additional backers, we can complete the story of how the Snake Lair traveled through time, and Lady Slither rose again to wreak havoc in Eternia.
Again, fans who back by 11:59pm August 14th will receive Skeletal Lady Slither as an Early Backer Bonus! The playset needs a minimum of 6,000 backers to fund will now receive the two headed Serpentine Steed, Chimera as part of the base offering! And if it hits 8,000 backers, the set will include the High Priest Pythonus figure!
This campaign ends August 28, 2025, at 11:59pm PT, so join today and tell every MOTU fan you know about the project. Together, you have the power!
Complete Your MOTU Collection
Be sure to check out our Masters of the Universe shop pages where we’ve curated figures from MOTU Origins, Masterverse, Classics, Vintage and more so you can find the figures you need easier!
