The Masters of the Universe toy and cartoon franchise got a live-action film adaptation back in 1987, with Dolph Lundgren taking on the role of lead hero He-Man, who defends the planet Eternia (and the rest of the universe) from evil forces, usually headed up by the villain Skeletor. To cut costs, the majority of the film is set on 1980s Earth, with He-Man and various other characters being transported from Eternia to Earth with the use of a “Cosmic Key.” Another live-action film adaptation of Masters of the Universe has been in development hell for a long time, but it looks like might finally escape into production, as Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Studios have announced that the movie will be receiving a theatrical release on June 5, 2026. Technically, summer in the northern hemisphere won’t begin until June 21st in 2026, but this is considered a summer release because summer starts early in the movie industry.
Oddly, despite technological advances and the fact that this movie is likely to have a much larger budget than the ’87 movie, the filmmakers are still planning to set a chunk of its running time on Earth.
Bumblebee director Travis Knight is at the helm of this new take on Masters of Universe, working from a screenplay by Chris Butler that’s based on earlier drafts by David Callaham and formerly attached directors Aaron and Adam Nee. The story follows ten-year-old Prince Adam who crashed to Earth in a spaceship and was separated from his magical Power Sword—the only link to his home on Eternia. After tracking it down almost two decades later, Prince Adam is whisked back across space to defend his home planet against the evil forces of Skeletor. But to defeat such a powerful villain, Prince Adam will first need to uncover the mysteries of his past and become He-Man: the most powerful man in the Universe.
This still doesn’t sound like the ideal story for a live-action Masters of Universe movie to me and I’m not sure why they mixed a bit of the Superman set-up into this version of He-Man, but we’ll see how it turns out.
The new live-action Masters of Universe has been making its way through development hell since at least 2004, with many scripts being written over the years as the project passed through the hands of directors like John Woo, John Stevenson, Jon M. Chu, Jeff Wadlow, McG, David S. Goyer, and the Nee brothers. It has bounced from studio to studio: Warner Bros., Sony, Netflix. Noah Centineo and Kyle Allen have been attached to star at different points. It’s been quite a mess, but it might be on track now.
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