After years of rumors, Hollywood is taking another swing at Masters of the Universe. The live-action adaptation comes from the director of Bumblebee, and the movie is now in post-production. While still unfinished, early test screenings have already taken place, and, as usual, leaks from those in attendance are beginning to surface online.
According to the John Campea Show, one viewer described the new He-Man movie as “amazing,” even though the version they saw was incomplete. Early reactions like that should always be approached with caution since test audiences usually represent a small and carefully selected sample. Still, positive remarks hint that the film might please fans who have waited decades for a faithful big-screen version.
“I talked to somebody who has seen He-Man. Who has seen it in its early stages and they said ‘It’s Amazing.’ And this isn’t somebody who’s got any dog in it. This isn’t somebody that has anything to benefit from it. They said it’s amazing. They said they were totally shocked. Completely surprised. But they said it’s amazing.”
Mattel Studios president Robbie Brenner recently revealed she had already seen a director’s cut and called the project the “perfect compliment” to Barbie, the company’s first major theatrical hit. “I just actually got to see a director’s cut of the movie and [I was] absolutely blown away. That will be our second theatrical movie… I think it’s a perfect compliment to Barbie. I think people are going to be so excited. It is so much fun and feels so different.” Her statement might sound familiar to fans who have learned to grow uneasy any time a nostalgic property gets compared to Barbie.
Many fans of Masters of the Universe are already concerned the new film could take the same route as Netflix’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which reduced He-Man to a supporting role while lecturing audiences through the character of Teela. Add to that Mattel’s insistence on framing He-Man’s return as a “fun” and “different” experience, and it’s easy to see why longtime fans are bracing for another “subversive” take that mocks or rewrites what made the original series special. In other words, nobody wants Eternia turned into another plastic satire.
The trailer is reportedly in the editing phase, with one insider describing as featuring Prince Adam’s transformation into He-Man and several classic moments. “It opens with Prince Adam talking to a friend on Earth and they are confused because Cringer is there and they discuss the green tiger. From there it goes to Prince Adam going to his home world and learning about his lineage from who I think is the sorceress, but it was kind of hard to see because of the watermarks.
After that it bounces around a bit and you see Prince Adam talking to a few of people from Eternia. There was a brief glimpse of Skeletor and who I think was Evil-Lyn. The trailer does show Prince Adam raising the sword and yelling ‘I HAVE THE POWER’ and you see the transformation. A few quick scenes of him fighting as He-Man then it ends.”
The movie’s cast includes Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam / He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor (red-flag), Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, and Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, along with a long list of recognizable names. The film is scheduled to open in theaters on June 5, 2026.
For nostalgic fans, this new Masters of the Universe has the potential to restore faith in the franchise, unless Hollywood keeps treating classic heroes as punchlines, then it might just undermine them all over again. Either way, audiences will find out next summer whether this version of He-Man stands tall with sword in hand, or ends up just another “reimagined” casualty of modern studio thinking.
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