The new live-action Masters of the Universe will be well worth the long wait fans have endured, says one of the movie’s stars.
During ScreenRant‘s IT: Welcome to Derry red carpet interview with Camila Mendes, the Teela actor took a moment to hype the long-awaited fantasy film, assuring “Yes, it’s coming! It’s coming.” Mendes then teased the movie’s tone, which she characterized as a blend of the serious and the funny:
I think one of the things I admire most about the film, and that I was so pleasantly surprised by when I read the script, is that it had the perfect balance of comedy and heart. It wasn’t a movie that was completely making fun of itself the whole time, but it has a good sense of humor.
I’m really, really proud of what we did. It’s so hard to walk away from these movies because so much is going to be done in post that you’re like, “How do I assess what we just walked away from?” But I just have a feeling about this one. I could be completely wrong, but I think it’s very special.
Masters of the Universe is set for release on June 5, 2026, 39 years after Cannon Films’ somewhat infamous first attempt at launching a movie franchise built around the He-Man toy line and popular animated series.
Mendes Praises Masters Of The Universe’s He-Man Actor Nicholas Galitzine
During ScreenRant’s IT: Welcome to Derry red carpet interview with Mendes, the Masters of the Universe star also took a moment to praise some of her cast-mates, including He-Man actor Nicholas Galitzine:
Nicholas Galitzine is incredible as He-Man. Idris Elba, who plays my dad in the film, was like a true dad to me. We got so close, and I love him so much. And Alison Brie is incredible as Evil-Lyn. She’s such a good villain and hits the perfect comedic tone. Yeah, people are going to love it, I think.
Mendes’ co-star Alison Brie previously offered her own take on how the new He-Man movie will land for older fans looking to relive their childhoods, and younger fans searching for a new fantasy movie franchise to embrace, telling ScreenRant back in July:
I did Masters of the Universe, and I really feel like I shouldn’t say too much about that either. But I do think that is really fun, and I think it’s going to serve both the nostalgic audience that loved He-Man when they were kids and a new generation of He-Man fans.
A sampling of Masters of the Universe footage was presented at CinemaCon 2025, an event at which ScreenRant was in attendance, and it appears a lot of effort was expended on making the movie look as much as possible like the toys and animated show, according to a footage description dispatched from the MOTU panel:
A BTS clip shows He-Man’s sword, with the movie’s director talking about the toys he had as a kid. “By the power of Grayskull!” is heard in the background. We see a lot of practical effects (mixed with VFX of course), accurate costumes from the cartoon, including Teela, Man at Arms, Skeletor, and huge physical sets. It ends with He-Man’s hair blowing in the wind.
This description comes as good news for older Masters of the Universe fans who were traumatized by the critically panned 1987 Cannon Films adaptation starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor. The notoriously stingy Cannon splurged on MOTU, spending $22 million on a film that ultimately grossed just $17.3 million, making it one of the 1980s’ most infamous box office bombs.
In the 39 years since Cannon messed up live-action Masters of the Universe, the franchise has been kept alive as an animated venture, with a big resurgence coming in recent years thanks to a quartet of series, three of which were produced by Netflix, with Kevin Smith serving as showrunner for two, as well as a She-Ra spinoff series.
Live-action He-Man has been in the works more-or-less non-stop for the past two decades, with the franchise passing through various hands along the way. A brief timeline charts the project’s slow progress as different directors, writers, and actors became attached, and dropped out:
- In 2007, legendary action director John Woo was reportedly attached to a Masters of the Universe movie at Warner Bros., but the project was never officially green-lit.
- Sony took over MOTU right in 2009 and set to work developing a movie, with Crazy Rich Asians director John M. Chu later becoming attached.
- By 2014, Kick-Ass 2 director Jeff Wadlow was reported to have replaced Chu, but by 2016, McG was reported to have taken over for Wadlow.
- Kellen Lutz threw his name into the ring to play He-Man during McG’s time leading the project, but then McG left as well, and David S. Goyer was brought on to rewrite the script.
- In 2019, Noah Centineo was reported to be playing He-Man for the Nee Brothers, but exited after Netflix took over the project, with Kyle Allen stepping in.
- Netflix gave up developing a live-action Masters of the Universe movie in 2022 after reportedly spending $30 million, and the Nee Brothers and Allen were both out of the picture as well.
Amazon MGM Studios finally acquired the franchise, and in 2024 began production on the Masters of the Universe movie now set for release in 2026, directed by Travis Knight, and featuring an all-star cast including Tron: Ares star Jared Leto as Skeletor.
- Release Date
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June 5, 2026
- Director
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Travis Knight
- Writers
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Chris Butler
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Nicholas Galitzine
Adam / He-Man
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