Masters Of The Universe: Release Date, Cast, And Other Things We Know About Amazon's Live-Action He-Man Movie

Finally, after four decades of starts and stops, a Master Of The Universe movie is finally scheduled for release as part of the 2026 movie schedule. Fans of the franchise know all too well that the promise of a live-action movie based on the toy line from Mattel (and the cartoon that was also born from the action figures) has been in production hell for a long, long time.

We have a lot of news to update here, including the full cast, the release date, and so much more. So without further ado, let’s get into

What Is The Masters Of The Universe Release Date?

By the power of Grayskull (and Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films, the producers of the film), Masters of the Universe is set to hit theaters everywhere on Friday, June 5, 2026. This date is a long time coming. The project has been all over the place for years, including having found a home at Netflix at one point, before the pandemic thwarted that.

The film was later revived with plans to start shooting in mid-2022, and those were abruptly cancelled not long after. Principal photography finally got underway in January of 2025, and star Nicholas Galitzine confirmed in an Instagram post in July of ‘25 that production had wrapped. It looks like things are definitely still on pace to hit that release date next summer.

What Masters Of The Universe Is About

We don’t know much about the specific plot at this point. We know that it’ll be about Masters of the Universe's central character, He-Man, the super-powered alter ego of Prince Adam, a barbarian prince hailing from the planet Eternia. It is there that he and his companions engage in a series of battles against their nefarious archnemesis, Skeletor, who wishes to conquer Eternia by uncovering the secrets of Castle Grayskull.

The Sword Of Power Has Been Revealed

Just a month after Masters of the Universe started shooting in January 2025, Amazon MGM Studios released its first sneak peek at the film with a photo that is not too revealing but gives fans plenty of reasons to be excited. Take a look at the image below:

The photo appears to be of a bulked-up Nicholas Galitzine in character as He-Man holding the hero’s famed Sword of Power, which imbues him with his warrior strength. Our own Adam Holmes reacted to the photo with a plea to have his own Sword of Power, raising hope that Mattel will release some realistic replicas by the time the film is released. Galitzine also shared the photo on his Instagram with a caption reflecting on the “several months of training” he underwent to play Prince Adam and his excitement to share this new vision of Eternia.

The Masters Of The Universe Cast

I imagine that fans of He-Man have a preconceived idea of what type of actor should play the iconic hero. Well, let’s take a look at who Amazon MGM has chosen to lead the Master of the Universe cast and who else is joining him for this new adventure.

Nicholas Galitzine (He-Man/Prince Adam)

The new He-Man will be played by Nicholas Galitzine, who has starred in numerous Amazon Prime original movies already, including 2023’s Red, White & Royal Blue and The Idea of You from early 2024. The English actor’s casting follows two previous announcements that the lead Masters of the Universe role was filled – first by Noah Centineo, who dropped out as Covid-19 continued to hold the project back, and then by Kyle Allen, who was brought in until it hit another snag.

Jared Leto (Keldor/Skeletor)

Jared Leto has had a big 2025 with the release of Tron: Ares, and although that movie was a bit of a box office letdown, we all know that Leto is no stranger to big franchises. The Suicide Squad vet is playing He-Man's chief villain, Skeletor. Can he nail that famous cackling voice? I think he'll be great.

Camila Mendes (Teela)

Teela – the Captain of the Royal Guard at the palace of Eternos, who serves as Prince Adam’s trainer and protector – will be played by Camila Mendes, as THR reported in August 2024. The character – who also fights battles with He-Man while unaware he is Adam’s alter ego – marks a major departure for the former Riverdale cast member, who is otherwise best known for rom-com films like the funny Palm Springs (one of the best movies on Hulu) or Amazon’s Upgraded. Then again, she also starred in a crime thriller called Coyote Lake from 2019 and led Netflix’s Dangerous Lies the following year.

Alison Brie (Evil-Lyn)

You could probably guess by her name alone that Evil-Lyn – the only female member of the Evil Warriors and second-in-command to Skeletor – is a villain. She will be played by Alison Brie. The actor broke through as Annie in the Community cast and later starred on Netflix’s GLOW but has also taken on darker roles, such as in Horse Girl and the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman.

Idris Elba (Duncan / Man-At-Arms)

Duncan – whose title, “Man-At-Arms,” is described as an advisor of Eternia’s ruling monarch and the Royal Guard – will be played by Idris Elba, who played the somewhat similar role of Heimdall in the Thor movies. In fact, Masters of the Universe will be only the latest of many comic book films the six-time Emmy nominee has participated in, also including two DC films (The Losers and 2021’s The Suicide Squad) and the non-MCU Marvel flick, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Kristen Wiig (Roboto)

The great Kristen Wiig will star as a Roboto, a robot warrior built by Man-At-Arms in the cartoon, and introduced later in the original cartoon's run. Traditionally, Roboto has been male, so this is an intriguing casting, one that could be very cool.

Morena Baccarin (Sorceress Of Castle Grayskull)

Playing Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, who guards the fortress’ secrets with magic, is Morena Baccarin, who is also no stranger to comic book adaptations, having voiced Talia Al Ghul in some animated Batman movies, played Leslie Thompkins in the Gotham cast, and starred in the Deadpool movies as Vanessa. She had previously earned her “Geek Goddess” status as part of the Firefly cast in the role of Inara Serra.

James Purefoy (King Randor Grayskull)

James Purefoy – starring as Adam’s father, King Randor – has one previous comic book adaptation under his belt called Pennyworth (following Bruce Wayne’s butler’s early days in espionage). Highlights of the English actor’s resume also include A Knight’s Tale, HBO’s Rome, Disney’s John Carter, and creator Kevin Williamson’s crime drama, The Following.

Sam C. Wilson (Trap Jaw)

Skeletor’s cybernetic henchperson, Trap Jaw, who gets his name for his deadly bite, will be played by Sam C. Wilson of BBC’s Dodger fame. He is also known for appearing in a couple of episodes of House of the Dragon as Blood and is also set to star in the upcoming series, Blade Runner 2099, for Amazon MGM.

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Fisto)

A fierce, heroic warrior named Fisto, known for having a large metal fist for a right hand, is being portrayed by Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, who is no stranger to fantasy epics, having appeared in the Game of Thrones cast as Lem Lemoncloak, in Vikings: Valhalla as Olaf Haraldsson, and more. The Icelandic actor more recently appeared in Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World as Copperhead.

Kojo Attah (Tri-Klops)

As Tri-Klops, one of Skeletor’s top warriors, we have Kojo Attah, whose last major “warrior” role was in the 2020 video game Troy: A Total War Saga as the voice of Memmon. The actor would later work with Jason Statham in Wrath of Man and The Beekeeper, They also appeared in Netflix’s sci-fi series, Supacell.

John Xue Zhang (Ram Man)

Ram Man, who was literally described by Mattel as a “human battering ram,” is being played by John Xue Zhang, who has performed stunts for such films as Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Eternals. He has also scored acting roles in shows like Netflix’s The Brothers Son and movies like Kraven the Hunter.

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Goat Man)

Playing a minor villain named Goat Man – who debuted in the 1985 Golden Book, Secret of the Dragon’s Egg, before appearing in the Masters of the Universe: Revelation episode “Hope, for a Destination” – is Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. The Icelandic strongman made his acting debut as one of multiple actors in the TV role of The Mountain on Game of Thrones and later starred in 2022’s The Northman, most notably.

Charlotte Riley (Queen Marlena)

As Marlena – King Randor’s wife and Adam’s mother – we have Charlotte Riley, who met her husband, Tom Hardy, while playing the romantic leads of Masterpiece’s two-part adaptation of Wuthering Heights. She would later be known for films like Edge of Tomorrow and London Has Fallen, and series like Peaky Blinders.

Sasheer Zamata (Suzie)

Sasheer Zamata has joined the Masters of the Universe cast as a new character named Suzie, but it will not mark the first time the SNL alum has branched out beyond comedy. She starred in a Blumhouse thriller called Sleight, was in the 2020 found footage horror movie Spree, appeared in Showtime’s Waco: The Aftermath, and joined the MCU in Agatha: All Along.

Christian Vunipola (Hussein)

Also starring in an original role, named Hussein, is Christian Vunipola. Some of his previous acting roles include 2022’s Not Okay and Hulu’s Miguel Wants to Fight.

Travis Knight Is Directing

Helming Masters of the Universe is Travis Knight, who already has experience with movies about toys, having made his live-action directorial debut with 2018’s Transformers movies spin-off, Bumblebee. His first directing credit was 2016’s Academy Award-winning Kubo and the Two Strings from Laika — the stop-motion animation studio he co-founded to produce acclaimed films like ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls.

Handling screenwriting duties — following a previous draft by David Callaham and Aaron and Adam Nee — is fellow Laika veteran Chris Butler, who penned the likes of ParaNorman and Missing Link, in addition to working on the storyboarding for stop-motion classics Corpse Bride and Coraline. Producing credits on Masters of the Universe go to Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch of Escape Artists and Robbie Brenner from Mattel Films.

Masters Of The Universe Is One Of Many Upcoming Mattel Productions

It would not be too much of a stretch to assume that the Masters of the Universe production got a healthy boost following the success of Barbie. However, He-Man is not the only toy hitting the big screen with help from the pink lady as there are several other films based on Mattel products currently in the works.

You can expect to see a new feature based on the popular American Girl dolls, both a Hot Wheels movie and another based on Matchbox toy cars, and even upcoming flicks about the View-Master and the Magic 8 Ball. There are plenty more where those came from on the way.

Previous Adaptations Of The Masters Of The Universe Toys

The Masters of the Universe toy line was first launched by Mattel in 1982. A popular after-school cartoon soon followed, and a notorious live-action box office bomb starring Dolph Lundgren (who teased that he might be appearing in the new movie) as He-Man was released in 1987. The adventures of He-Man and other characters from the franchise were also chronicled in accompanying minicomics, which were followed by a run in DC Comics as well.

The franchise’s first-ever movie, however, was 1985’s He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, which was later televised as a mini-series. The adventures continued to expand on the small screen in later years with 1990’s The New Adventures of He-Man, another remake from 2002, and two animated reboot series on Netflix in 2021, including the Kevin Smith-produced Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and a 2024 miniseries called Masters of the Universe: Revolution. There were also two spin-off series centered on He-Man's sister, with Netflix's more recent hit She-Ra: Princesses of Power being an update of the characters' '80s spin-off.

How to watch previous Masters of the Universe adaptations

Will this new interpretation of Masters of the Universe “have the POWERRRRRRR!” to win audiences over? We will just have to see when He-Man returns to the big screen in 2026.