Masters of the Universe

• Also known as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in some territories
• Directed by Travis Knight
• May 18, 2026 (TCL Chinese Theatre) / June 5, 2026 (US)
• Based on Masters of the Universe by Mattel

Prince Adam returns to Eternia to save his home from the evil forces of Skeletor.

I and probably many others have waited decades for a big budget (or at least moderately budgeted) He-Man film. MOTU ’87, while it does have a special place in my heart, was done on the extreme cheap and did a disservice to the source. At the time asking for something visually close was a big ask as was something taking a cartoon made to market a toy seriously.

Imagine my excitement when a new live action He-Man movie was announced. Nostalgia is big business in Hollywood and my hopes were high. In hindsight though given the treatment of things like Transformers or G.I. Joe, I should have better tempered my expectations.

While I appreciate the deep cuts to the diverse lore, what ended up on the screen was more like something done by people that didn’t like the property at all. Masters of the Universe ‘26 is almost a mockery of the property and not a loving poke at things all can acknowledge are a little silly. So much comes off almost spiteful.

Moving it partially to Earth could possibly have been a pointless nod to the ’87 venture. Not sure but it just makes Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) into a moron working in HR telling everybody who will listen he is from another planet. He is desperate to find the Sword of Power from which he was separated on his trip to Earth via portal as a child. Did he not learn in his 15 years on the planet to keep his mouth shut. It pads the story while adding nothing to the overall narrative. Instead it opens the door to self-referential Marvel style humor that undermines the whole film and the hero character.

During the movie Prince Adam never grows into a capable hero. Nobody really sees him as a leader. At least that’s the message sent by the closing moments of the film. It is personified in the very end when there is yet another threat where Eternia’s heroes are needed Adam runs off to change in secret with Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) questioning if Adam forgot they all knew he was He-Man. It questions his competence. Adam was just a dumbass loser.

In the cartoon and successive iterations, names like Fisto, Moss Man (Stephen Adentan), Ram-Man (Jon Xue Zhang), and Mekaneck (James Wilkinson) were treated as actual names though Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba) was called ‘Duncan’ at times. Here they are names Adam made up while on Earth because it appears he was never invested in them enough as a child prince to learn their real names. Fisto is of particular interest to the filmmakers because they go out of their way to make fisting jokes. I thought this was mostly a family movie.

The soundtrack has a distinct 80s rock sound to it making the movie’s feel even goofier than it already is. In a day and age when the fantasy standard was set by LOTR and it’s sumptuous orchestral sound, going with electric guitars seems like a bit of a misstep. The notes of the classic theme were nice but glam rock does not work as a film score.

Visually Masters of the Universe often acknowledges the classic series. Character designs are nearly one-to-one with vehicle designs being easily recognizable. Even Skeletor’s ship The Collector shows in its unmistakable glory. That speaks of appreciation. He-Man even stops an attacking ship in a way that gave me flashbacks. Yet it goes full Filmation character laugh in a way that looks, well, stupid.

The performances were okay but I don’t think any of the heroic character actors other than Idris Elba really cared about the material or providing a serious take. As Duncan, he added depth and real emotion to a broken man who failed to do his job and carried the weight of that failure. His rampant alcoholism was a sign of this but also a source of humor in a way that might have made Foster Brooks happy.

Teela (Camila Mendes) is a much more together character and really carried no baggage from having her world and everything ripped away by Skeletor’s (Jared Leto) conquest. She often is the only capable character and performs consistently better in stressful situations. She is the father to her father rather than Duncan guiding her.

Jared Leto absolutely killed it as Skeletor. A condescending evil that was a mix of the dramatic and the family friendly evil of the cartoon. I think had this been a more serious film, he would rank right up there with one of the great genre film performances of all time. Everyone and everything is beneath him and his quest for power. It is equal parts humorous and diabolically evil.

I recall director Travis Knight saying He-Man in this movie was the antidote to toxic masculinity. And I guess that’s because he was chosen according to the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) as a vessel for the Power of Grayskull due to his empathy. Adam does try to talk things through with Skeletor but the man’s conquered a planet and has designs on the entire universe. What does he think a good heart to heart will accomplish? Why does he even think one is possible? 

There is a very heavy use of green screen in this. I’m not sure if other than the Earth locations anything on an actual set or against a real background. Great for making effects easier but the lack of reality becomes increasingly noticeable to the point the fakery is overwhelming.

Masters of the Universe could be best described as flaccid. The dialogue was shallow and the direction limp. Despite the capabilities and possibilities to overwhelm you visually, it never tried. It’s a movie that goes through the motions of being a movie but never put in any effort.

I could go on and on about what’s wrong with Masters of the Universe, but I think I have shown how much of a failure it was. It’s as if everyone in charge disliked the film and hired people that would either take it seriously or could take it seriously.