Masters of the Universe has struggled to find an audience at the box office, but fans have embraced the reboot and have made it clear that they want Amazon MGM Studios to greenlight a sequel.
It's not hard to see why; the movie is a lot of fun, and most importantly, right in line with the classic cartoon. In the case of Skeletor, everyone agreed that the remake delivered a pitch-perfect—and suitably campy—take on the skull-faced big bad.
Only time will tell whether a sequel materialises, but Mattel is continuing to produce merchandise for the movie, this time with a San Diego Comic-Con-exclusive Masters of the Universe "Gym Bro Skeletor" action figure. Don't worry if you're not heading to SDCC, though, as this also goes live on the MattelCreation website on July 23.
Here's the official description for the figure, which collectors can use to recreate one of Masters of the Universe's most memorable sequences:
"In the new Masters of the Universe movie, Skeletor doesn’t just fight He-Man in the physical world. He brings the battle directly into Prince Adam’s mind! In celebration of the movie and inspired by the fun of San Diego Comic-Con, we’ve recreated the “gym bro” appearance Skeletor takes on during this dastardly mind-meld attack."
"By the power of those abs, Skeletor can lift the stacked barbell or dumbbells with ease. The weights feature premium metal accents, and we’ve also included his customized gym towel, so he can wipe down the machines after he wipes the floor with He-Man. Nyaah!"
It's been confirmed on multiple occasions that Jared Leto was on set for his scenes as Skeletor, so here's hoping we eventually get to see some behind-the-scenes photos of him as this "Gym Bro" version of the villain.
"He's wearing his prosthetic skeletal muscle suit. He's got the amazing costume on, but it's still just Jared's face because that was all replaced by a CGI skull," filmmaker Travis Knight previously explained. "But he didn't want the other actors that he was sharing the scenes with to look at him and see Jared."
"He wanted them to look at him and see something scary. So he would put this kind of blood-like, smeary makeup on his face. So he looked scary as hell. He didn't look like Skeletor, but it just gave the other actor something to play off of, which is an act of generosity, because he's looking at his other performer and wanting to make sure that they can live in the scene with him," he added.
Leto received positive reviews for his Skeletor performance, which made a nice change after the lukewarm response to flops like Morbius and TRON: Legacy. There's been some chatter about the Oscar-winning actor being unhappy with how his performance turned out, so only time will tell whether he'd be open to a sequel.
Check out this new Masters of the Universe action figure below (via SFFGazette.com).
In Masters of the Universe, director Travis Knight brings the legendary franchise back to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure. After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto).
To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
The supporting cast includes Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, Stephen Adentan as Moss Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto.
Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters.