Camila Mendes Was OK Wearing Teela's Revealing OG Costume. Why Her Masters Of The Universe Look Got Changed For Live-Action

Camila Mendes as Teela in the Masters of the Universe trailer — (Image credit: Amazon MGM)

Of all the movies on the 2026 release calendar, one that I am personally looking forward to is Masters of the Universe. The live-action adaptation of an ‘80s kids cartoon is already going to have a hill to climb when it comes to making a modern live-action movie that gets audiences excited. Those who grew up with the original show are the obvious target audience, but they may not love the changes being made.

In many ways, the Masters of the Universe trailer looks like the cartoon brought to life. He-Man is wearing his traditional outfit. Skelator looks like Skelator, although how Jared Leto’s version of the character will sound remains to be revealed. One character that has received a bit of a makeover, however, is Teela. One might assume the character’s revealing costume was vetoed by the actress who would have to wear it. However, speaking with Empire (via He-Mania.com), Camila Mendes said she was fine with the outfit, but others just didn’t think it made sense. She said…

I was OK with it, but they decided that it would be kind of silly to have this warrior woman trotting around in a swimsuit among all these big, burly men.

To be fair, the outfit that Mendes is seen wearing in the trailer, as well as in images from the set she posted to Instagram, isn’t that different from the Teela costume from the old cartoon, at least from the waist up. It’s still a sleeveless piece of armor with a collar. The big difference is that the movie’s version of the costume has pants.

The cast of Masters of the Universe looking out from a ship. — (Image credit: MGM)

In the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon show, Teela’s legs were bare, which absolutely gave the outfit a bit of a “swimsuit” vibe. It wasn’t particularly revealing; this was a kid’s show after all, and it was downright modest compared to some of the “armor” you’ll see on female characters in sword and sorcery movies.

While some fans have real issues when elements of the source material are changed, I can’t imagine anybody will be too upset with this particular change. Teela is not defined by her lack of pants. There are far more important things a Masters of the Universe movie will need to get right if it wants to win over the hardcore fans or otherwise just make a great movie. We’ll find out how well it all works when Masters of the Universe arrives later this year.

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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.

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