After Barbie's record-breaking performance at the box office, it should be no surprise that Mattel quickly moved forward with more film projects. Case in point: the new Masters of the Universe movie, which arrives in theaters this weekend starring The Idea of You's Nicholas Galitzine. The movie is directed by Travis Knight, who recently admitted he's seen the online discourse, as well as folks prematurely hating on the next live-action He-Man adaptation.
What we know about Masters of the Universe has been limited, but that changes this weekend when it gets its wide theatrical release. During an interview with IndieWire, the director got real about folks who are criticizing the movie before even seeing it. In his words:
Well, look, it’s the tenor of the times. There’s a general cynicism to most things. I can see why people would be cynical! I can see why people have their knives out and are ready to pounce on something and talk sh-t about something. It happens. A lot of the time it’s a function of people caring about something and feel like they’ve been let down in the past. So, a lot of that are people who care. [Laughs] Some of it is people being d-cks, and that’s the world we live in. But, to that I would say, when we show the movie to people, they like it. They enjoy it.
He's not wrong. Folks love to hate on movies and TV online; it's simply the way the internet works as of late. And when bringing a campy franchise like He-Man to life for modern audiences, Travis Knight was probably prepared for those naysayers. We'll just have to wait and see if people change their tune once the movie has its wide theatrical release.
Critical response to Masters of the Universe has been pretty positive, especially related to both the comedic beats and He-Man himself, Nicholas Galitzine. That's likely helping the movie's director keep his head on straight and not give the haters too much power. Later in the same interview, Knight shared his understanding of He-Man fans who might be skeptical about the new movie. As he put it:
And because I loved this stuff, too, if I heard this was coming out, I’d probably be a little bit cynical. But, I think, when people see it and people realize the joy, the love, the sincerity we put behind it — me, the cast, the crew, we sincerely care about this movie. We put so much of ourselves into it. So my best answer to this is, give it a shot. You’re going to have a good time.
The trailer for Masters of the Universe showed some of the care that was taken in bringing Eternia to life in live-action. Travis Knight is a self-proclaimed superfan who grew up playing with the original toys and watching the animated series. That, as well as his previous history in the film world, seemingly prepared the Bumblebee director to let hate roll off his back. Instead, he's letting the new blockbuster speak for itself.
Masters of the Universe hits theaters this weekend as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll have to see how audiences ultimately respond to the movie, and if the online hate quiets down as a result.
