While we wait for the first teaser for the live-action Masters of the Universe reboot (it was rumored to drop before the new year, but that obviously didn't happen), concept artist Constantine Sekeris has shared a first look at some of his character designs for an earlier version of the movie that was in development over a decade ago.
This Sony Pictures project had several filmmakers attached to direct, including Joe Cornish, Rian Johnson, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and Jeff Wadlow, who ultimately signed on to helm just before the movie stalled.
In 2016, McG was enlisted to direct, with Kellan Lutz in talks for the lead role of He-Man. When McG parted ways with the film, David S. Goyer took over as writer and director, but his vision for Eternia was reportedly deemed too expensive by the studio.
Netflix was all set to develop a feature take on the beloved animated series back in 2022, but that project also fell by the wayside. We'd later learn that Amazon/MGM Studios had acquired the movie, with Bumblebee director Travis Knight in talks to helm. Chris Butler rewrote the script from an initial draft by David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).
Sekeris has unveiled his designs for He-Man (before Lutz was cast, presumably), Teela and Man-At-Arms. Based on what we see here, this was most likely going to be a slightly more grounded take on the material than the upcoming Legendary/Mattel film.
"Posting today some very old concepts on Masters of the universe from 2015," he writes. "Back then, I was hired for 6–8 weeks to do some very preliminary concepts based on the script and tone they were going for. I was going through old hard drives and found these as I thought I lost them and pulled them out of my PSD files. The script was absolutely badass and the director super awesome. This is /was a passion project to be a part of. I grew up on He-Man and all these wonderful characters to bring to life. I was a part of this brand for a good 14–15 yrs off and on, and explored sooooooo many different designs and tones of all these characters. I was not a part of the one coming out this next year and hope it’s a cool fun film I get to go back to my childhood."
What do you make of these designs? Drop us a comment down below, and we'll be sure to keep you updated on that elusive MOTU trailer.