If the first reactions are anything to go by, Masters of the Universe has the potential to be a real crowd-pleaser this summer. However, perhaps most importantly, filmmaker Travis Knight has set out to deliver a movie that will make longtime fans happy.
There have been lots of moments and Easter Eggs in the trailers clearly aimed at them, but this new promotional image has to rank among the most creative.
As you'll see below (via SFFGazette.com), Amazon MGM Studios has put a live-action spin on the "Skeletor Facts" meme. As a reminder, that involves Skeletor mentioning a disturbing fact and then running off. As he does so, the iconic villain shouts, "Until we meet again!" It's been pretty popular online since 2021.
We don't have the second half of the meme, but this certainly has the first part nailed. We don't know whether this will factor into Masters of the Universe itself, though we wouldn't necessarily bank on it, given that the reboot is clearly taking Skeletor seriously.
During a recent interview with Polygon, Knight opened up on his approach to bringing He-Man's biggest bad guy to the big screen:
"It was always very clear to me what methodology we needed to do to bring the Skeletor to life. Skeletor has a skull for a face. There were iterations long before I became involved in this project where Skeletor had a gold mask and when I heard that I was outraged because he doesn't wear a mask. He's got a skull for a face! He's a talking emoting skull! So we had to have a skull for a face. That also meant it was going to be CG because you can't flay an actor to play Skeletor."
"But we wanted an onscreen performance, not motion capture. We wanted a real person to embody that character. So in the end, it was a combination of CG, an incredible costume, and an extraordinary muscle suit brought to life by our prosthetics master, Barrie Gower, who was just absolutely astonishing. He did so many incredible prosthetic effects on the film. Jared Leto gave a performance in full costume and in his muscle suit. And then after the fact, we'd go through in visual effects and replace Jared's face with this CG skull."
There have been rumblings recently that Jared Leto isn't a fan of how Masters of the Universe turned out, which is why he hasn't been promoting it. However, the Oscar-winner, who most recently starred in bombs like Morbius and TRON: Ares, has also been dealing with some pretty serious sexual misconduct allegations that aren't a good fit for a film aimed at families.
Check out Masters of the Universe's take on "Skeletor Facts" in the X post below.
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 opens in theaters on June 5.