Nostalgia continues to be a powerful force in the entertainment industry. And after Barbie's record-breaking performance in theaters, Mattel has brought another major IP to the big screen: Masters of the Universe. Actor Nicholas Galitzine got jacked to play Adam Glenn/He-Man, but it turns out that there are some exercises that his co-star Camila Mendes has him beat on. Let's break it all down.
In the lead-up to the release of Masters of the Universe, it's been made clear that Galitzine gained a ton of muscle in order to bring He-Man to life on the big screen. He kept it up while shooting, frequently working out with Teela actress Camila Mendes in the process. As you can see in the above video, the Riverdale star spoke to CinemaBlend about being He-Man's gym buddy. She was asked which workout she was superior at, responding with:
That I could do better than him? Probably pilates, because we had Wednesdays. We had Pilates day and and which, honestly, for both of us, I think was harder than anything else, but I definitely could beat him at places and flexibility with flexible.
Take that, He-Man. Because while folks have been drooling over Nicholas Galitzine's new physique, there were some exercises where bigger wasn't better. Namely, pilates, and any other workouts that were more about flexibility. That's where Mendes shone, and was able to one-up her scene partner as they maintained their fitness together.
Masters of the Universe reviews have praised the movie's comedy, as well as how great Galitzine looks as the movie's protagonist. And while Camila Mendes' Teela costume wasn't as revealing as the cartoons, she still worked hard to look at strong as possible as the Guard of Eternia. In the same conversation with CinemaBlend, the Do Revenge actress still gushed about her hulking co-star, offering:
I feel like Nick can definitely do more pull ups than me. His upper body strength is unmatched, unfortunately.
Listen, you can't win them all. And while the Idea of You actor has more upper body strength, Camila Mendes has him beat when it comes to flexibility and pilates. It's too bad that we don't get to see Teela and Adam spar in Masters of the Universe. Instead, they're working on the same side throughout its 140-minute runtime. But hey, maybe these allies and friends can come to blows if a sequel ends up being ordered.
It should be fascinating to see how Masters of the Universe does at the box office, and if it ends up starting a new movie franchise. There are generations of fans out there who love He-Man and the rest of the characters, but only time will tell if that translates to money at the box office.
Masters of the Universe is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. So fans can see just how jacked Mendes and Galitzine got for themselves.
