"By the power of Grayskull!" This exclamation from Prince Adam aka He-Man will finally make its way back to the movies in 2026. In the new live-action adaptation of the popular fantasy franchise, the character will be given a completely new origin story. Even the actor of the famous muscle man has finally been confirmed! So, in this update, you'll get all the latest information on the planned "Masters of the Universe" film! Enjoy!

A First Attempt

This is not the first time that the Mattel toy line has been made into a movie. Of course, it all started with the extremely crude animated cartoon series, which was supposed to boost sales of the action figures in the 80s and is now the subject of many memes.

The first attempt at a cinematic adaptation was made by the legendary low-budget studio Cannon Films in 1987 - back then with Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man. With worldwide box office takings of 17 million dollars, the movie was deemed a flop, was torn apart by critics and ruined Cannon. Nevertheless, the movie enjoys a degree of cult status among trash film fans today.

Since then, there have been at least several animated series. The last one was released under the title "Masters of the Universe: Revolution" on Netflix. The only thing that has never been attempted since the 80s is a new live-action film - until now, that is.

Chaos Behind the Scenes

The new movie version of "Masters of the Universe" has had a chaotic development process that began in 2007. In the meantime, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures were involved and various directors were under discussion. However, nothing came of it and the project ultimately ended up at streaming giant Netflix under the direction of brothers Adam and Aaron Nee. Most recently, they were responsible for the adventure comedy "The Lost City" with Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock. They had even already found a leading man in Kyle Allen.

Originally, Netflix wanted to invest a budget of 150 million dollars in the film. Within a very short time, however, the costs had already risen to 200 million dollars: too expensive for the streaming service - and so the project was scrapped. In May 2024, the trade magazine Variety then announced that Amazon MGM wanted to bring the story back to theaters together with Mattel Films.

Cast and Crew

The movie will be directed by Travis Knight, who thrilled audiences with the animated adventure "Kubo and the Two Strings" and has already worked on the "Transformers" franchise as part of "Bumblebee". "Masters of the Universe" is written by Chris Butler - known for "ParaNorman" and "Missing Link". The starring role of Prince Adam is now expected to be played by Nicholas Galitzine, who was last seen in the romantic comedy "The Idea of You" alongside Anne Hathaway. "Riverdale" actress Camila Mendes will play the role of Teela. Naturally, we are eager to find out which actors will be playing characters such as Skeletor or Orko - but there is no information on this at the moment.

What is "Masters of the Universe" About?

The "Masters of the Universe" movie is set to begin with ten-year-old Adam crashing his spaceship on Earth and being separated from his magical Power Sword - the only link to his home on Eternia. His decades-long search finally leads him back to his home planet, which he must defend against the sinister Skeletor. In order to do so, however, Adam must first confront his own past before he can finally become the mighty He-Man.

"Masters of the Universe" experts will surely have noticed that the film is moving away from the classic story of He-Man's origins: in the earlier animated series, Earth didn't play a role at all. Only in the first live-action adaptation did He-Man end up in New Jersey due to budget constraints.

Is There a Release Date?

Although the new He-Man movie is still some time away, there is already a release date: "Masters of the Universe" is set to open in theaters on June 5, 2026. We are looking forward to finding out more - above all, of course, to seeing the first pictures of the main actor in the famous costume. After all, there's a fair amount of anticipation due to the muscular look of the original - and Prince Adam's, well, let's say "special" hairstyle.