MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Star Nicholas Galitzine Says Reboot Will Move Away From Cartoon's Campy Tone

Nicholas Galitzine has been cast as the new He-Man in the upcoming Masters of the Universe live-action movie and the actor suggests this take won't borrow too heavily from what's come before. Check it out!

News

By JoshWilding - Jan 05, 2025 12:01 PM EST

Filed Under: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Source: THR (via SFFGazette.com)

After what felt like endless delays and false starts, we're finally going to get a live-action Masters of the Universe movie in theaters next year. Nicholas Galitzine is playing He-Man and Suicide Squad and Morbius star Jared Leto will transform into the evil Skeletor.

The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) recently caught up with Galitzine and asked if he's been watching the classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon and, if so, how that compares to the upcoming movie.

"I have, yeah. Look, what I will say is our version is quite different from the original animation, which we all agree was camp within its own right and worked so well for the time," the actor explained. "But there’s been a couple of iterations, obviously since there was the Revelation version of Master of the Universe, and the comics themselves."

"And we’re very much treating our script as as Bible, you know. But it’s kind of amazing to hear what this show meant to a lot of people," Galitzine continued. "It was really formative for a lot of people, so it’s exciting to do something that will have a nostalgia element as well as hopefully attract a bunch of new fans."

The decision to veer away from the animated series' tone will be good news for some and an unwelcome departure for others. Embracing the silliness might have served Masters of the Universe well, but getting too serious could lead to mixed results based on past experience.

Bumblebee director Travis Knight is helming the movie about Eternia's greatest warrior and the filmmaker has also tapped Sam C. Wilson (House of the Dragon) as Trap Jaw; Kojo Attah (The Beekeeper) as Tri-Klops; and Hafthor Bjornsson (Game of Thrones) as Goat Man.

They recently joined a cast that includes Alison Brie (Promising Young Woman) as Skeletor's lieutenant, Evil-Lyn; Camila Mendes (Riverdale) as He-Man’s trusted companion, Teela; and Idris Elba (Thor: Ragnarok) as Teela's father, Man-at-Arms.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, we know that Knight's collaborator on Wildwood, Chris Butler (ParaNorman), penned the latest draft of the screenplay. David Callaham and Aaron and Adam Neem previously took a crack at it.

He-Man gained widespread popularity through the animated television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which aired from 1983 to 1985, spawning a vast array of merchandise, comic books, and a cult following. Netflix rebooted the property with 2021's Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

Masters of the Universe arrives in theaters on June 5, 2026.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Rumored Plot Details Point To Major Change To He-Man's Origin

Recommended For You:

SUICIDE SQUAD And MORBIUS Star Jared Leto Will Play Live-Action Skeletor In MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

54 Comments

1 2

ZiggyStarman - 1/5/2025, 12:13 PM

I’m slightly alarmed to hear that they’re not gonna use the campy tone, which was most of the fun of the original series. I still remain optimistic, just hope they don’t get too self serious.

dragon316 - 1/5/2025, 1:38 PM

@ZiggyStarman - serious he man is not bad thing comics past cartoon series had that they where not bad at all

HashTagSwagg - 1/5/2025, 12:13 PM

Good! Synder cut or GTFO

harryba11zack - 1/5/2025, 12:17 PM

i just hope they don't undercut tela and try to make he-man the central charcter of the story.

DARKNYTE2323 - 1/5/2025, 12:19 PM

The 2002 series and the current series headed by Kevin Smith are anything but campy. They're definitely made for adults. Several deaths that have occurred like Motherboard, Adam, Hordak. If they match the tone of the current cartoon, I'll be a happy man.

epc1122 - 1/5/2025, 12:19 PM

A new interpretation??? Oh nnnnnoooooo, this is the worst news ever!! lol

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 12:31 PM

@epc1122 - truly awful

It’s unfortunate we are getting a new take on this property that has had its own versions of the characters & such from the beginning , even from the toyline

I’m sure we’ll hear about complaints of not being accurate soon enough 😉

epc1122 - 1/5/2025, 12:40 PM

@TheVisionary25 - I know right, the sword might be too long or too short and it will ruin people’s childhood as if they can’t go back and watch the original show lol 😂

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 12:45 PM

@epc1122 - lol yep.

bkmeijer1 - 1/5/2025, 1:46 PM

@epc1122 - how dare they!? But really, I'm all for new interpretations. An adaptation is at it's best when it uses familiar elements in a new way imo

epc1122 - 1/5/2025, 1:54 PM

@bkmeijer1 - I agree. I remember when people were so upset when Thor didn’t really wear his helmet and then that character ended up being in like 7 more movies and ended up being a fan favorite. I really like how Gunn seems to be taking inspiration for the new Superman movie from more than one source. Makes it feel new but also familiar which is no easy task. Hopefully this new interpretation of he-man resonates with the audience. The latest chi cartoon felt fresh but I’ll admit that it was more geared for kids, in general I thought it was ok but not my favorite version.

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 2:06 PM

@bkmeijer1 - agreed

Well said about adaptations

Hell , people would be surprised if they realized the animated shows and such they grew up changed alot of things aswell

bkmeijer1 - 1/5/2025, 2:16 PM

@epc1122 - The MCU has done a great job at that doing a new thing with existing IP.

Doing something accurate to the source is hard, especially when different people consider different sources as their canon. Would be great if this and Superman pull it off as well

bkmeijer1 - 1/5/2025, 2:19 PM

@TheVisionary25 - I like to say a lot of things about adaptations, kinda why I wrote an article about it last month (shameless plug): https://comicbookmovie.com/video-games/sonic-the-hedgehog/sonic-the-hedgehog---from-source-to-screen-video-game-adaptations-a215201

epc1122 - 1/5/2025, 2:21 PM

@bkmeijer1 - yeah, fingers crossed this movie does well. I think the first movie could be a good set up for more traditional he-man movies in the future. Kind of like how Thor’s first movie had him on earth for a good amount of time and then they brought more traditional elements in the sequels. It’s almost the reverse of Thor where heman will grow up on earth and then go back to eternia whereas Thor was from Asgard and then went to earth as an adult but by the end of the movie they both end up on their home worlds. By Adam growing up on earth, the audience will get to learn about the power sword and eternia as he learns about it which might be interesting to see.

bkmeijer1 - 1/5/2025, 5:02 PM

@epc1122 - that's a good comparison. I initially looked at it like a reverse Star-Lord, although he never really had adventures on Earth.

But yeah, more traditional stories can take place later on. For now, I really like putting the main character in a new setting.

epc1122 - 1/5/2025, 6:55 PM

@bkmeijer1 - I’m all for updating a character and hopefully it’s a fun movie to watch. Maybe later installments can even have she-ra but hopefully the first one is good and does well at the box office to warrant a sequel.

bkmeijer1 - 1/6/2025, 2:17 AM

@epc1122 - could be fun. But honestly, I'm not optimistic enough about the numbers that it'll get a sequel

epc1122 - 1/6/2025, 3:06 AM

@bkmeijer1 - sad to say but I agree. Here’s to hoping we get at least one he-man movie to enjoy.

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 12:20 PM

Makes sense imo.

I am glad that he’s atleast looking at the 80’s cartoon and is even atleast aware of the comics and other takes…

I hope the movie and him also have taken inspiration from the 2002 cartoon since I always felt like that take could make a good film aswell.

?feature=shared

Anyway I’m still not fully sold on Galitzine for the role (I can see him as Adam but not He-Man) but I like the rest of the cast ,even Jared Leto as Skeletor since I think he could pull that off.

Also I thought Bumblebee was enjoyable so having Travis Knight at the helm gives me some faith.

epc1122 - 1/5/2025, 12:33 PM

@TheVisionary25 - 2002 he-man was prob my favorite version of he-man but I do hope they have some of the music from the original show. That music really hits home for me. I would imagine that there’s some cgi to enhance the actors look so there’s some differentiation to Adam and he-man, maybe prosthetics? I don’t want the characters to look too much like each other. I liked how in Shazam there are two completely different actors but he-man has always been the same. Really excited for the movie as he-man has always been one of my favorite characters. Superman, he-man, and Voltron are top on my list of upcoming movies to see.

ItsNotForMeWahh - 1/5/2025, 12:20 PM

WelcomeBackFrank - 1/5/2025, 12:23 PM

If they stuck to the tone of the old Cartoon Network reboot show, I'd be okay with that.

I still am not happy about some of the casting decisions they've made. I like Idris Elba as an actor but was hoping Hollywood would've finally gotten a clue and gotten off of this race-swapping kick. Nope. 2025 and still thinking we "need" this stuff. Idris, actually, could've been a good Scare-Glow and rivaled Tony Todd's performance but nope.

BruceWayng - 1/5/2025, 12:26 PM

It’s sucks that Taika Waititi became such a massive assclown bc his take on Thor: Ragnarok- in terms tone, atheistic and humor-would’ve been the perfect way to adapt MoU to the big screen today.

Unfortunately he ruined everything good about Ragnarok by dumping out the massive slopfest that was Love and Thunder.

No one wants a serious version of He-Man and Kevin Smith alrwady proved that a “modern reimagining” of the property isn’t the way to go either.

KwisatzHaderach - 1/5/2025, 12:35 PM

Not really gonna be He-Man then is it

GeneralZod - 1/5/2025, 12:40 PM

Not a good sign.

EgoEgor - 1/5/2025, 12:41 PM

That's too bad, was hoping to see the live action version of this...

ItsNotForMeWahh - 1/5/2025, 12:45 PM

@EgoEgor - This would make me SO happy

Feralwookiee - 1/5/2025, 6:16 PM

@EgoEgor - This one's still my favorite.

?si=D_rBho31WLISQPt1

GirshwinDavies - 1/5/2025, 12:55 PM

Damn

Moltenman - 1/5/2025, 1:11 PM

Nothing against Goat Man but why not beast man and Mer man. They were Skeletors OG henchmen. I am glad they are using Tri clips and Trap Jaw though.

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 1:16 PM

@Moltenman - they might still be in the movie and these are the ones they have just cast

Moltenman - 1/5/2025, 2:02 PM

@TheVisionary25 - hopefully. For some reason I am cautiously optimistic about this movie.

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 2:07 PM

@Moltenman - me too

I would rather people be that then write it off without seeing a single frame

Moltenman - 1/5/2025, 3:17 PM

@TheVisionary25 - the only concern I have is the whole he allegedly is sent to Earth as a 10 year old and has no recollection he is he man until he finds the sword of power. I would think a space journey like that would stick in the mind.

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 3:21 PM

@Moltenman - to be fair , that is a rumor right now

I get you though unless he repressed it severely

Moltenman - 1/5/2025, 4:09 PM

@TheVisionary25 - you are right and I hope that is all it is, a rumour. This should be based solely on Eternia. Hopefully they nail it as I said I am hopeful for this and hope they can do the source material justice.

TheVisionary25 - 1/5/2025, 4:22 PM

@Moltenman - even if it has an Earth element , I still think it will mostly be on Eternia

AnthonyVonGeek - 1/5/2025, 1:42 PM

Been a MOTU fan most of my life but I have absolutely no interest in this whatsoever. Copying Superman and Dragonball by sending a child Adam to earth is an unoriginal boring idea. Sounds like a lazy AI idea. 🤷‍♂️👎

dragon316 - 1/5/2025, 1:44 PM

As long prince Adam doesn’t wear purple boots and pants , pink shirt with that girly gay hairs style he had in original cartoon or they be debate on news and internet is prince Adam gay or bisexual .,

I’m all for serious tone he man this show was serious little dark not much comedy fans loved this series ?feature=shared

1 2

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Star Nicholas Galitzine Says Reboot Will Move Away From Cartoon's Campy Tone

Nicholas Galitzine has been cast as the new He-Man in the upcoming Masters of the Universe live-action movie and the actor suggests this take won't borrow too heavily from what's come before. Check it out!

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Rumored Plot Details Point To Major Change To He-Man's Origin

SUICIDE SQUAD And MORBIUS Star Jared Leto Will Play Live-Action Skeletor In MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.