8 Things The Masters Of The Universe Movie Must Get Right About He-Man After Years In Development

As exciting as Amazon’s Masters of the Universe adaptation may be, it needs to get a lot of things right to be a worthy adaptation of He-Man’s adventures. We really do live in an age where everything old is young again. Mattel’s Masters of the Universe franchise is set to return to the big screen in an Amazon/MGM movie scheduled for June 5, 2026. It’s the first time He-Man will have appeared in theaters since a 1987 film starring Dolf Lundgren, one of the one of the most notorious box office bombs of Hollywood history.

Nicholas Galitzine (Chambers, Cinderella, Mary & George) has been cast as Prince Adam / He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe; he’ll be joined by Camila Mendes (Dangerous Lies, Fairfax, Riverdale) as Teela, Captain of the Guard and possible love interest. Netflix’s controversial Masters of the Universe: Revelation attempted to relaunch the franchise, but this is undoubtedly the biggest chance for He-Man to stand tall in Hollywood at last. All that means there’s a lot riding on the movie to be successful – and here are some of the most important things it’s got to get right.

8 Focus On He-Man Front & Center

Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation improved as time passed, but could never quite shake off its early mistakes and missteps. Part of the problem was that trailers emphasized the return of He-Man, but the first season’s plot was essentially He-Man-lite. It’s telling that He-Man wasn’t even referenced in the title, and the “revelation” really felt like Teela’s, when she discovered He-Man’s true identity in tragic circumstances.

Amazon’s Masters of the Universe movie doesn’t reference He-Man in the title either. But it’s vital the film avoids the same mistake of not making him the star; it needs to be focused on He-Man’s character and powers, showing why he really is the mightiest man in the universe. He-Man is returning to the big screen, and he needs to stand front and center in his battle against Skeletor and the forces of evil.

7 Prince Adam’s Secret Identity Has To Make Sense

He-Man may live on a fantasy world, but he’s essentially Eternia’s main superhero, leader of the planet’s version of the Avengers. He traditionally even has a secret identity, which he guards with the greatest of care; few know that the cowardly Prince Adam is really He-Man. Secret identities were a massive part of superhero fiction back in the ’80s, but they’ve been somewhat out of fashion after 2008’s Iron Man, which explains why Smith’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation began with He-Man’s true identity revealed.

This revelation necessarily changes every one of the relationships viewers are eager to see.

The problem, though, is that this revelation necessarily changes every one of the relationships viewers are eager to see – especially the relationship between Prince Adam and Teela. Meanwhile, there are signs the fashion is changing again, with Spider-Man: No Way Home wrestling with Peter Parker’s secret identity, and Daredevil: Born Again sure to follow suit with Matt Murdock. It’s vital Amazon’s Masters of the Universe plays this straight.

6 Nicholas Galitzine Has To Be A Believable He-Man AND Prince Adam

This means a lot of weight rests on Nicholas Galitzine in the central role. He essentially has to play two different characters; the apparently cowardly Prince Adam, who runs from danger at the first sight of trouble, and He-Man himself. Galitzine is a skilled actor, but this is going to test him to the max, especially in the moments of overlap – when Adam steels himself, draws his magic sword, and utters the spectacular battle-cry that transforms him.

Again, Galitzine would do well to take a tip from some of the classic superhero actors – most notably the late Christopher Reeve. Reeve’s iconic performance brought both Clark Kent and Superman to life, and he subtly adjusted his entire body language to make it believable that Clark wouldn’t be recognized. Galitzine will need to pull off something similar, making his Prince Adam feel completely different to He-Man.

He-Man comics have long recognized the similarities between He-Man and Superman, with many crossovers and team-ups.

5 Teela Needs To Be More Than Just A Love Interest

A focus on He-Man means the Masters of the Universe movie will surely face the temptation to make Teela, Eternia’s Captain of the Guard, the principal love interest. There’s always been a romantic undercurrent to the relationship between He-Man and Teela – He-Man is wish-fulfilmlent for many boys, after all – but it’s important this remain only an undercurrent. Teela is no damsel in distress, but rather is a Master of the Universe in her own right.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation attempted to do justice to Teela by focusing on her heavily-implied relationship to the Sorceress, revealing she’d inherited her mother’s powers. This was a smart approach, but again, it fundamentally altered Teela’s character. The live-action adaptation is the first chance to see He-Man and Teela on the big screen since 1987, which means this really needs to be the original Teela.

4 Eternia Needs To Be A Rich & Vibrant World

He-Man made his debut on the fantastical planet of Eternia, and the classic animated show spent a great deal of time exploring this new world. For Mattel, of course, it was an opportunity to create new action figures; winged characters for the mountains, aquatic ones for the seas, and variants of He-Man and his fellow Masters in different outfits for the varied environments. 1990’s The New Adventures of He-Man headed away from Eternia, which was a mistake. Other shows promptly returned to He-Man’s homeworld.

The New Adventures of He-Man was something of a misstep, really, in that it forgot the franchise’s fantastical roots. He-Man is a sword-and-sorcery adventure; although Man-At-Arms has advanced technology, it’s more of a Steampunk style, and a full-on move into science-fiction was a bad idea. Amazon’s Masters of the Universe needs to be unashamed of He-Man’s fantasy roots, especially in an age where Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and The Wheel of Time have proved fantasy can be a hit.

3 Skeleton Has To Be A Truly Terrifying Villain

Masters of the Universe is really the story of Skeletor, because every hero is really measured by the might of their nemesis. The 1987 Masters of the Universe movie just didn’t quite pull Skeletor off; he felt like a pretty standard fantasy villain, rather than a true threat to the universe should he unlock the power of Grayskull. If Amazon’s Masters of the Universe is to be a hit, then Skeletor needs to be truly terrifying.

It’s true this is a children’s franchise, so the film can’t go too far. Still, Disney has long since proven that villains can be incredibly scary, and yet beloved; that only makes it all the more satisfying when they lose. Amazon will face the temptation to underplay Skeletor’s villainy, meaning he has less impact. That temptation must be resisted.

2 The Tone & Style Has To Be Right

There have been so many different incarnations of Masters of the Universe over the decades, and it’s easy to therefore conclude there’s no real “tone” the franchise should take. That couldn’t be further from the truth; the tone of the franchise was set back in the classic 1983 series, and it’s one of joyful innocence. This, sadly, was another area where Masters of the Universe: Revelation struggled; it tried to grow up with the 1980s viewers, and thus didn’t always quite click.

Masters of the Universe may be fantasy, but it’s not Game of Thrones. There’s a childlike innocence to the franchise, one that allows parents to share it with their children. While the original series’ moral messages would be more cringeworthy than Battle-Cat’s alter ego, those often-hilarious speeches give a sense of the franchise’s worldview. He-Man’s world is one of black and white, good and evil, and it’s designed to fill viewers with joy. Repeating this is non-negotiable.

1 Masters Of The Universe Needs To Introduce A New Generation Of Viewers To He-Man

Fundamentally, Masters of the Universe: Revelation made the simple mistake of overindulging in nostalgia. It was aimed at an audience who had loved the 1980s TV series and who wanted to see the franchise grow up with them. Nostalgia has been a massive force in modern Hollywood for years now, but there’s a sense in which the nostalgia play is beginning to feel subject to diminishing returns. Amazon’s Masters of the Universe relaunch must eschew this, aiming to bring in new viewers.

The goal shouldn’t be to bring in the nostalgic children of the ’80s

That doesn’t necessarily mean this needs to be an origin story, of course; but it certainly means Masters of the Universe needs to present a fully fleshed-out world as though it’s the first time a viewer has ever heard of He-Man. The goal shouldn’t be to bring in the nostalgic children of the ’80s, but instead it should be to see the children of the ’80s share He-Man with their children and grandchildren. If Amazon can pull this off, then He-Man won’t just star in a blockbuster again at last, he’ll thrive.