As Amazon MGM and Mattel continue to cast the main roles in the upcoming live-action Masters of the Universe reboot, we may know which actor is being courted to play the villainous Skeletor.
According to Jeff Sneider, none other than Jared Leto has been offered the role.
Leto will be very familiar to CBM fans, having played the Joker in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, and the titular Spider-Man villain in Sony's much-maligned Morbius. He also appeared in Blade Runner 2049, and has a key role in Disney's upcoming TRON: Ares.
If he accepts, Leto will join Nicholas Galitzine (Purple Hearts, Red, White & Royal Blue, The Idea of You) as Prince Adam/He-Man, Riverdale alum Camila Mendes as his right-hand woman and (possible) love-interest, Teela, and the recently-cast Alison Brie (GLOW, Community) as Skeletor's second-in-command, Evil-Lyn.
Previous rumors have claimed that Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Les Misérables) was in contention to play the iconic baddie.
He-Man's nemesis was played by Frank Langella in the previous live-action movie, and voiced by Star Wars legend Mark Hamill in the recent Netflix Masters of the Universe Revelations series.
After numerous false starts, Netflix was all set to develop a feature take on the beloved animated series back in 2022, but we recently got word that the latest attempt to get the project off the ground had also fallen by the wayside.
However, we'd later learn that Amazon/MGM Studios had acquired the movie, with Bumblebee director Travis Knight in talks to helm. The movie is now set to hit theaters on June 5, 2026.
Chris Butler rewrote the script from an initial draft by David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). Previously, the Nee Brothers (The Lost City) were attached to direct.
An updated synopsis was recently revealed, it sounds like this adaptation will be making at least one major change to the established lore.
The story follows “10-year-old Prince Adam who crashed to Earth in a spaceship and was separated from his magical Power Sword—the only link to his home on Eternia. After tracking it down almost two decades later, Prince Adam is whisked back across space to defend his home planet against the evil forces of Skeletor. But to defeat such a powerful villain, Prince Adam will first need to uncover the mysteries of his past and become He-Man: the most powerful man in the Universe!”
There have been several different takes on Prince Adam's origin in the various animated shows and comic books, but this is the first time the character will grow up on Earth before making his way back to Eternia as an adult - although he '80s live-action movie starring Dolph Lundgren was primarily set on Earth.
Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch will produce, along with DeVon Franklin.
Netflix reportedly spent almost $30 million in development costs over two years working on the project, before deciding to walk away when the budget, originally set for more than $200 million, could not be meaningfully reduced.