Masters Of The Universe (2026)

After the planet Eternia fell to the evil forces of Skeletor, young Prince Adam was hidden on Earth. Now, he must return and seize his destiny as He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, if he wants to save Eternia from darkness.

I talked about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at great length in my last post about the 1987 version of the film. The only thing that you maybe need to know about that going into this review is that the 1987 version was a weird flop. It was basically the end of the He-Man franchise for a long time.

Despite this, there was just no way that Hollywood was going to let a well-known IP molder on the shelf forever, especially not in this day and age. Eventually they were going to try for a second bite at this apple. That's what this new version is.

But it's been a long road getting here...

So, like I said, for 20 years, the idea was dormant. Then, in 2007, there was movement. And it was... surprising. The famous Hong Kong action director, John Woo was reportedly connected to a reboot. But it never happened. In 2009, John Stevenson, director of Kung Fu Panda was supposed to direct the newest iteration, but… nope. Later that year, Sony got the rights, and names like Joel Silver and Jason Blumenthal were floated to produce. In 2012, Jon M. Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians and the Wicked films, was supposed to direct, with Dolph Lundgren possibly playing King Randor. But by 2014, it was clear that this wasn’t happening either. After that, a handful of well-known names like Joe Cornish, who directed Ant-Man and Attack The Block, and Andres Muschietti, director of the crappy It movies, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who directed the Spiderverse movies, and even Rian Johnson, who made the various Knives Out films and The Last Jedi, were all said to potentially be involved. But… nope. Then, supposedly Mike Cahill, who directed Another Earth, and Jeff Wadlow, the director of Kick Ass 2, and Chris McKay, of the Lego Batman movie and also The Tomorrow War, were some of the names mentioned for the director's chair. But again… nope. Then, in 2016, Deadline claimed no-talent hack McG was going to direct the film, and it was even announced that the film would be released on December 18, 2019. But then in 2017, McG left the film, and in his place, David Goyer, who wrote Blade, amongst many, many other things, stepped in… at least until February 2018, when he then stepped away. Goyer’s reportedly Lord of the Rings-like in scale script was tossed out, and then Sony brought in Aaron and Adam Nee, who directed Lost City. This version of the project languished for the next few years as multiple attempts were taken at creating new scripts. But it was all for naught, as in January 2022, Netflix acquired the rights from Sony, and they immediately started making cartoons that upset a bunch of the dumb misogynistic nerds because there were too many girls in them or something. Then, in 2023, Netflix finally canned the whole idea of a film, fired everyone, and left Mattel holding the tattered remnants of its prized possession, this sad little once-mighty franchise.

Finally, in 2023, Amazon MGM Studios bought the film rights, and then hired Bumblebee and Kubo and the Two Strings director, Travis Knight, to direct, with a screenplay by the writer of Kubo and the Two Strings and ParaNorman. After that, it was full steam ahead. And the world was like... Holy shit, is it happening? Yes, it was happening. It was finally happening. He-Man had somehow managed to climb out of development hell…

But did it take too long?

But that question aside for now, I’ll be honest...

I was feeling kind of good about where this project finally landed. I had no particular stake in it. I was neither anticipating it, nor was I dreading it. I didn't care either way. But... Bumblebee was actually–surprisingly–a good time. In fact, it was the only Transformers film that felt, and most importantly, actually looked like, the Transformers, instead of a mass of ugly whirling CGI garbage filmed at the Golden Hour. And Kubo and the Two Strings is an actually amazing stop-motion animated film. It's actually good. So I felt like the new He-Man film might actually have a chance of being good too, because these were good hands. Suddenly, I was interested in seeing what they were going to do with this goofball franchise that I hadn't really thought about in years.

Plus, as time went on, not only was it nice to see that there were some interesting choices (and one really shitty one) being made as far as casting went, it was also clear that they all understood how important the true legacy of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was.

And so, here we are again, nearly forty years later, with a new live-action He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film...

So...

In Eternos, the capital city of the planet Eternia, young Prince Adam, and his best friend Teela, are amongst the fresh young recruits being trained in the art of battle by Duncan, the king's Man-At-Arms, and Teela's father. Smaller and weaker than the other children, Adam knows that his father, King Rand, is disappointed in him, and Duncan does his best to give Adam the support his father denies him, all while also preparing Adam for the day when he will have to defend Eternia himself.

But that day comes too soon…

Eternos is attacked by the evil forces of Skeletor, and the city falls quickly as Skeletor’s fearsome lieutenants rampage through its streets. King Randor and Queen Marlena are captured, and Duncan is gravely injured by the cyborg-pirate known as Trap Jaw, one of Skeletor's henchmen. With the city on fire, and with no other options, the Sorceress, guardian of Castle Grayskull, opens a portal to the planet Earth, the distant homeworld of Adam’s mother, the Queen Marlena. As Skeletor batters down the gates of Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress entrusts Adam with the Sword of Power, and the young boy escapes through the portal, alone.

But as he tumbles between worlds, Adam loses his grip on the sword.

Adam spends the next fifteen years in hell...

Oklahoma City.

He grows up in the foster care system, a weird kid obsessed with a certain sword, and the half-remembered lore of the storied warriors of Eternia. Eventually, Adam ends up working in Human Resources in a gray-painted, fluorescent-lit corporate office. He is a grown man in a pink shirt, who does his job badly, and lives with a weird roommate who is embarrassed to be caught watching rom-coms, yet also wears a man-bun in public.

Adam is still obsessed with finding the sword. When he receives a text message that the sword was spotted in a display at a local comic book store, he reclaims it in a wacky, pratfall-filled spur of the moment caper. The next day, he is arrested for the sword's theft, but on the way to the precinct, the cop car is attacked by another of Skeletor's lieutenant, the animalistic brute known simply as The Beast Man.

Luckily, Adam'ss friends were also alerted when Adam finally touched the Sword of Power again, so he is rescued by Teela, who in the years since they last saw each other has grown up into a bad-ass warrior, and the only thing she does better than kick ass, is rock some tight white pants.

They manage to escape in Teela’s ship to the ruins of Eternos, where the warriors of Eternia now live as rebels, hiding from Skeletor’s forces. These rebels find Adam to be a doofus, especially once he reveals his childhood nicknames for them, names like... Moss-Man, Ram-man, and Fisto.

So the rebels imprison Adam on their base, along with Teela, basically because she's the one who brought this dumbass into their home.

Waiting for them in the cell is Duncan, who is now a washed-up drunk, his failure to defend his king and his city 15 years ago still haunting him, and a former combat robot called Roboto, who was reprogrammed by Duncan years ago after it tried to kill him, and is now a surly and bitter robot maid.

The four manage to escape their cell just as the rebel base is attacked by Skeletor's forces. There’s an extended sequence of running about and punching and shooting, and when Trap Jaw blocks their escape using Teela's ship. Adam holds aloft his magic sword and says: "By the Power of Grayskull... I have the power!" Fabulous secret powers are revealed to him as he becomes a mighty loincloth-clad warrior version of himself, who then beats the crap out of Trap Jaw and his warriors. They flee on Teela's ship, which is supposed to be the Talon Fighter, but just... isn't.

Skeletor captures the rest of the rebels, and executes Moss Man, forcing Fisto to admit that Adam has the sword. Skeletor calls Adam and reveals that his parents are still alive and demands the sword as ransom. Adam, Teela, Duncan, and also Roboto, journey to Skeletor's lair at Snake Mountain, where Adam single-handedly defeats Skeletor's personal guard, which includes the multi-eyed Tri-Klops, the festooned with spikes Spikor, the massive red guy called Goat Man, and once again... Karg, who looks like he was made out of left-over henchmen parts.

But when Adam then faces Skeletor, things go badly, and Adam’s father, King Randor is mortally wounded. Adam is knocked unconscious, and he and Teela and Duncan and Roboto are imprisoned with the other rebels deep in Snake Mountain, where Adam finds his mother as well, Queen Marlena and his childhood pet, the talking tiger, Cringer.

Meanwhile, Skeletor celebrates that he finally has the Sword of Power, but he soon discovers that, for some reason, he can‘t use it to access the Power of Grayskull.

This frustrates him.

The evil sorceress Evil-Lyn, suggests that he try a ritual from within Castle Grayskull itself. With no other option, Skeletor packs up the henchmen and leaves Snake Mountain for Eternos, where Castle Grayskull and the film's climax await.

Meanwhile, Adam and his comrades manage to escape again.

Along with the rebel warriors, including Fisto, Ram-Man, and Mekaneck–a guy who has a long extendable mechanical neck as a power–He-Man battles Skeletor and his army of evil guys.

Everybody pairs off for the big showdown. Duncan gets his rematch versus Trap Jaw. Teela versus Evil-Lyn. (me-yow!) Cringer versus the Beastman. (Also meow!) Roboto versus everyone, because they now have access to their many weapons. Adam and Teela then smash their way into Castle Grayskull, where Adam faces Skeletor, and finally, we are given an answer to that eternal Eternian question…

Who has the Power?

Spoiler: It's He-Man.

Six months later, Queen Marlena rules Eternos, and everyone is really happy and clean and looks fulfilled, except for Teela and Adam, of course, whose loins burn with the fiery passion of a thousand undying suns for each other, but they're way too awkward to do anything about it.

To distract themselves from their tingling genitals, Teela asks whether Adam he has decided on a heroic name for himself when he uses the Sword of Power to turn into the mighty loincloth-clad warrior version of himself, and he announces that he has decided to call himself "He-Man" which impresses no one, and cures Teela of her horniness. Luckily, some kind of disturbance happens, and He-Man is able to ride away from the awkwardness on Battle Cat, which is what Cringer is called when he puts on a helmet.

Then, like every episode of He-Man, the Trollan magician known as Orko, He-Man’s long time floating goblin sidekick, appears to deliver the moral of the story to the erapt audience, reminding us all that muscles don't necessarily make a man, and that how you use power is more important that having power, and also... as a general rule, people who have a skull for a face really can't be trusted.

Thanks, Orko!

Then we see Queen Marlena and Duncan having a quiet moment on a private balcony overlooking Eternos. Did they just have sex? Well, Duncan is played by Idris Elba, so... probably.

Anyway, Marlena tells Duncan that despite Adam's return, she has given up hope of ever reuniting with both of her children, and the audience is then briefly allowed to muse on the fact that this is literally the first time that anyone has mentioned that Adam has a twin sister in this movie. But then Duncan dismisses her honestly very valid concerns, and basically tells her not to worry.

Then we see the Princess Adora, otherwise known as She-Ra (but it's the classic version, not the much more awesome version by ND Stevenson, who also made the Oscar-nominated animated film Nimona–as she is about to enter a battle in the Fright Zone, on the planet Etheria.

Like her brother He-Man, She-Ra prefers to go pantsless.

And finally, we get one last glimpse of Evil-Lyn, as she quietly returns to Castle Grayskull in order to retrieve Skeletor's skull.

As she slips away, Skeletor's evil laughter is heard...

So, my main question is... Is the Sword of Power supposed to be sharp?

It doesn’t seem like it’s sharp, not from the way that anyone carries it in this film. Much like the cartoon, it seems more like a fancy club. And sure, it would hurt to get smashed in the chest with it, and I think it can throw lightning, maybe, but I don’t think it can actually cut anything. It’s like a huge butter knife, I think.

That’s kind of weird.

Anyway, much like the last film, this was movie was a flop. As of today, Masters of the Universe (2026) has grossed a worldwide total of about $114 million against a reported $170 million production budget. That's definitely an underperformance. And also much like the last live-action He-Man film, while there‘s good stuff here, it’s mostly a disappointment. This all makes me wonder…

Who exactly is this film for?

The fact that they updated this film at all is a strange decision, and more than a bit of a Red Flag going in. After all, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe barely have any kind of pop culture presence outside of a couple of Netflix cartoons. Kids today certainly aren't fans of the franchise. She-Ra maybe, sure, but He-Man? No. And the millennials only ever cared about those now ancient memes, and as for the Boomers, all the bright lights and loud noises scare and confuse them. I suppose they could say they were trying to introduce the franchise to a new generation, but were they? Did the story feel like it was sincerely trying to introduce the unaware to this universe, or did it feel more like a rushed tour of Easter Eggs? (Psst... It was the latter.) And that aside, did it work? Did the kids notice?

Judging by the box office, no.

And the craziest part is, just a half second of honest introspection would have made it plain to see… the only people who could possibly be interested in this film are aging Gen Xers. We’re the only ones who ever cared about this franchise. We’re the only who will ever care. It’s just an undeniable fact. It’s too weird of a franchise to hit anymore. And the reason it hit for us is because it was one of the big four… G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, and He-Man. It was in the right place at the right time, and we were all the right age. You can’t replicate that. Kids don’t do this kind of shit anymore. They do video games. Even the modern action figure market is dominated by older demographics. The only hope this film had was to lean into the nostalgia and hope the story was good enough to also pull in other generational demographics, and let's be honest here, it was only ever the slimmest of hopes. The cards were really stacked against this film when it came to the question of being a successful franchise reboot.

This means that the bad news is, that everything depended on the script. It had to not only be well-written and connect with audiences, it needed to do this while it was walking a razor-thin tightrope. This new film needed to be silly. It need to be cool. It needed to be loud. It needed to be fun. It needed to feature characters and story arcs that audiences loved and identified with. It needed to be the incredible box art from the 80s toys...

If it could do all that, then maybe...

Maybe then the parents, or I suppose now the grandparents, would've taken their kids to see the film, and maybe then they would buy those kids all of the new toys, and maybe then, if the film was actually good, those kids might actually want those toys, but it was always a slim maybe at best. I mean, that's a really tall order. How do you make a film that is all those things? Or more accurately, how do you make a film that is all those things... forty years too late?

Basically, I knew that this film was going to be a flop. There was just no other option. Everything about this film, its premise, and its intent as far as related-IP sales and all that, is a relic of a long past age. The new Masters of the Universe film was stepping onto a stage that simply no longer exists. It was destined to become a forgotten flop. I just hoped it might turn out to be an interesting as it was flopping.

This is why I was excited to see what Travis Knight did with this franchise… because like I said, he actually did the Transformers “right” so I was hoping he'd do the same for He-Man. I really did want to see the big colorful ridiculous sci-fi/sorcery pulp aesthetics of He-Man on the big screen. But what we got was more the opposite of what happened with Bumblebee.

Look what they did to the Talon Fighter.

You can clearly see what's missing in this new version. Now, I’m not saying that the Talon Fighter isn’t silly, I’m saying it should be silly. Instead, the film made it generic, it drained it of everything that was wild and bombastic and bright and weird. It should‘ve been garishly pulpy.

But it wasn’t.

And it's the vehicles that is the easiest place to point to as an answer to the question of where this film went wrong. The characters are more or less accurately depicted, some more than others, so that was good, but that only makes it more of a noticeably strange fact that none of the vehicles are. The vehicles are as much a part of this franchise as the characters are. They’re iconic for how silly and alien and weird they are, for one, but more importantly, they actually look like the result of a world that is a strange mix of super science and sorcery. Why stray from that? And this is just production-design stuff I'm talking about, so it’s not like it would change the script. I don’t get it. Why do such a half-effort in this day and age? Why return to the era of adapting a known property, but then... not actually adapting it? Things like the saw-bladed Roton and the dragonfly-winged Fright Fighter are here, but like the Talon Fighter, they are leeched of all personality.

But the rest? The insanely-designed Attak Trax? The inexplicably odd Dragon Walker? The green tub that was the Wind Raider? Nowhere to be seen, and really, it’s such an inexplicable decision, because this is a film that is constantly featuring the vehicles. I don't understand the point of having a Sky-Sled scene, if it's just a thing that looks like a flying snowmobile, not the weird-ass flying jetski Sky-Sled?

It’s like the film is ashamed of what it is.

It’s almost like the prevailing attitude of the production was… “to make sure the audience isn’t laughing at us, we’ll mock ourselves first.” It’s like the classic “nerd debasing themselves for the cool kids' amusement, because that's why the cool kids let them hang out with them.” A kind of twist on "better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven" in a way. But the end result is that this is an adaptation that failed to learn the lesson that the MCU proved over and over the past nearly 20 years: “Embrace the source material, it’s why these things are still around.”

So the result is a film that doesn't know who it's made for, and it shows.

Plus, it’s all too try-hard.

Fisto being called Fisto because he “fists people” is a moderately funny joke the first time, but then they repeat it three more times. And that's a big problem, one that starts out as no big deal, and then becomes an annoying issue, and is that this film tries really hard to be funny all the fucking time. It’s constantly winking at the audience, and it’s the very obvious kind of winking too, but at best, it’s only ever a little funny, like... a nice chuckle.

But it just keeps trying, trying and failing.

And I get it, this is a film that knows the premise is silly, and it wants the audience to know that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that's great, love that, but it's also the rub… the film should take it’s world a little bit seriously, or at least treat it all like it's real, silly or not. But the film can’t do that. It can't let a single moment be sincere. I know some people claim that the MCU is "too quippy," well no longer, because Masters of the Universe (2026) has reset that bar, and it's way up in the fucking stratosphere. No one can claim that anymore.

Maybe they just couldn’t figure out what was cool about all this silliness, and decided to lean hard into making a comedy, I don’t know. While watching, it's obvious that the film is struggling with its tonal balance. The big problem with that is that this is a film that very clearly doesn’t understand humor, or maybe there's a lot of unfunny people working on the production that really truly believe that they are funny, I don't know, but every joke here–every single one–goes on for way too long, and they’re all delivered in a style where a sad trombone wouldn't seem out of place. It's just an incredible amount of hacky crap. Sure, I'll admit that “Villains monologue. Heroes dialogue" is pretty good, I don't know if I've ever seen anything that thinks “Corporate HR speak“ jokes are as drop-dead fucking hilarious as this film seems to thinks they are.

It's like the pitch was Guardians of the Galaxy meets Office Space.

And on top of that, the whole thing is riddled with so many odd choices. Why wouldn’t you have Cringer transform into Battle Cat? He-Man transforms and gets armor, why not go with tradition and have Cringer transform and get armor too? Why would you not do that? I don’t understand the thought process. Sure, it doesn't change much that they didn't do that, but that only highlights how weird it is that they decided not to. And most of all, why does this film even take place on Earth at all? Because of the last movie? That’s the main thing people have always hated about the last film, why would you do that again? I don’t get it.

All in all, like the 1987 version, the 2026 version of Masters of the Universe is a frustrating watch. But this time it's frustrating because this is a film that’s close to being something good. Close, but not close enough.

Making things even more awkward, shoved in under all these self-conscious attempts on the movie’s part to point out how stupid the whole idea of its premise is, this film is actually trying to talk seriously about what it means to "be a man."

Y'see... Adam was small as a boy, smaller than all the other kids. He was bullied. He couldn’t fight. His teacher, and his friend Teela, a girl, cared for him, but they also clearly thought of him as weak. Worse, he was very aware of the fact that his father thought he was a disappointment, and as a result, as he was growing up, he was desperate for his father’s approval. But he never got it. And then, when he was sent to Earth, he had one task, safeguard the Sword of Power, and he failed at that too. So, when we then meet Adam as an adult, he is working in some anonymous company's HR department, which is clearly portrayed as an unmanly occupation, and worse yet, he's also bad at it, not because he's too cool to care, but because he is meak and mousey. He is also shown being emasculated by his female boss, and then, when The Beastman shows up, he is rescued by Teela, who is not impressed by him at all. In a nutshell, the setup of the movie is that everything about Adam, who he is and his life, is the result of him being a failure as a man, right?

Then, when Adam finally returns to Eternia, when he finally becomes He-Man, and starts “being a man” and beating the shit out of the bad guys who deserve it, it results in his father’s death. This is supposed to be the moment where Adam learns that it isn’t power that makes a man, it’s how you use it, and also that violence only leads to more violence, right? So what does Adam do, he uses his corporate team-building skills to rally the Eternian rebels, and then, in the big climax, he even tries it on Skeletor, he tries to resolve their conflict through dialogue.

But that totally fails, and He-man basically has to beat Skeletor to death.

And sure, it’s Skeletor, so big surprise, right? How else was it going to go? But when the film has Adam go on this journey, to realize that his own hang-ups are the toxic root of his issues, and that he can affect positive change using his power, and to then make a sincere attempt to extend a hand to his enemy, to honestly try to communicate with Skeletor, only for Skeletor to rebuke him, which then leads to He-Man fucking him up, the actual message of the film is not “Might doesn’t make you a man,” it’s “only pussies hesitate to punch.” So, while I appreciate the attempt to teach all the young men in the audience what it means to have power and how to use it, and that a hero helps, he doesn’t hurt, the actual optics of the film’s ending takes a big ol’ shit all over all of that.

And that's a microcosm of the film's problems. It's constantly trying to be too many things, in this case both a kick-ass action film and a sincere discussion of the violence inherent to the patriarchy, and it fails at both.

Weirdly, the best and worst part of this film is Jared Leto.

It’s also weird that in the two attempts to make a live-action movie of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise in the past four decades, both of which have been flops, that Skeletor was the best part of the film, but it’s true.

But my point is, this sucks. It sucks that Jared Leto is the best part of the film, because Jared Leto sucks, and not just because of the multiple rape and sexual assault allegations against him—although, that’s more than enough reason–but also… he’s off-putting in the same “there's too many rings and scarves and cowboy hats" kind of way that Johnny Depp is also off-putting. And there’s no denying the fact that people have noticed either. Leto has been box office poison for years. As proof, you only need to look at his most recent high-profile flops of Morbius and Tron: Ares.

So, yeah... it sucks because his Skeletor is incredible.

He’s a complete diva bitch and an unrepentant monster. He’s a big baby. He’s got a Tim Curry-like delivery that is fantastic, and an absolutely perfect cackle. He's cool and funny and the perfect villain for this franchise. Plus, his outfits during the final magical battle are incredible. It’s all so good.

Thank god the CGI skull hides Leto's creepy-ass face.

Clearly the filmmakers feels the same way. They obviously wanted to distance themselves from him. He did no press, and didn’t show up at the premiere either. They clearly wanted to make sure the film wasn’t linked to Leto getting confronted over his rape allegations. Still, he made millions off this, so, yeah… it sucks. But the fact they sidelined him during the whole process maybe means that we have finally reached the tipping point where Leto has become enough of a liability that it will now outweigh his… anti-charisma? His lack of box office draw? Honestly, I have no idea why the studios have been casting this fucking guy in things.

But yeah, I’ll admit it, Skeletor was a blast.

I also loved Dolph Lundgren’s cameo, especially as he wished the new He-Man “Good journey” before exiting stage left. A nice torch-passing moment. Also, Teela was not just bad ass, but she was hot in what felt like the exact right way for Teela. Best of all, the soundtrack clearly understood the assignment. The result of Queen guitarist Brian May and composer Daniel Pemberton, it definitely hits all the right notes, and is dead-on reminiscent of Queen doing the Flash Gordon and The Highlander soundtracks. But best of all, The Darkness made The Masters of the Universe theme song.

In summation...

Masters of the Universe (2026) leans into the silliness of its premise in all the wrong ways, striking a tone that simultaneously feels like it’s embarrassed of itself, while also desperate to be funny and self-aware. This is a film that clearly wants to be a big Guardians of the Galaxy/Thor Ragnarok style crowd-pleaser that winks at the audience, while also pointing out all of its Easter Egg homages, with a sincere message about being a good man for good measure, but in the end, it widely misses the mark on all of its targets. The result is a moderately fun, but mediocre summer film, the type of sci-fi film that back in the day would’ve eventually disappeared into the dusty back stacks of the video store, rarely to be rented ever again.

And I’m not saying it’s the worst thing ever. Honestly, if it was the worst thing ever, it’d be more interesting. Instead, it‘s entertaining enough, if you’re an old fan who’s curious, and it’s streaming for free, to watch one time while having a gummy and some leftovers on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but otherwise, there's no need for anyone to bother. This is a forgettable movie, and there’s much better films—like Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor Ragnarok, for example—that occupy the same kind of space this film tries to, but do a much better job of it.