Masters Of The Universe Movie: Everything We Know So Far

After multiple false starts, "The Masters of the Universe" will take another swing at becoming a big-screen franchise this year. Starring Nicholas Galitzine, Prince Henry of "Red, White and Royal Blue" fame, its first look trailer sports a serious tone and a sense of action-driven wonder; quite different in tone from initial teaser, which leaned on a more humorous note. Since the team behind the movie are mainly known for comedies, it's quite an interesting way of reviving the story. Just serious enough to avoid accusations of aping the 1987 version, there are also a couple of funny jokes to be had, and some reference to the cartoon's high fructose spirit to be noted.

Before the flick hits theaters on June 5, you might need a primer on the big guy's lore, and what the film might be going for in terms of tone, history, and feeling. This article will take a peek at what we know about the movie so far, and lay down some basic facts about everything Prince Adam does best. Here's everything you need to know about He-Man and his background before watching "Masters of the Universe."

The first thing you need to know about He-Man is that he's not fully human — but he's also not entirely an alien. Per the 1980s Filmation cartoon, as well as several subsequent iterations of the story, Prince Adam — and his secret twin, Adora — are the result of a union between Earth-born astronaut Marlena Glenn and King Randor, of Eternia.

Marlena stumbles upon Eternia when her ship goes off-course during her final space mission. She crash-lands on the planet and the damage to her rocket is so severe she can't return to Earth. While sheltering Marlena at his palace, Randor falls in love with her, and she with him. They marry, she is crowned his queen and consort, and eventually she gives birth to Adam and Adora.

Adam and Adora are separated soon after their birth in a kidnapping attempt  — Adora is taken by Hordak and raised as his adopted daughter, while Adam remains with Randor and Marlena and is trained to take over as the planet's ruler.

Skeletor and He-Man's never-ending battle for supremacy over Eternia is the stuff of legends, but the fight didn't start with Adam. Skeletor has a huge problem with King Randor, whom he keeps trying to replace and outdo. Though Skeletor is frequently outgunned by both Eternians, he always runs away vowing that there will be a next time, another chance for him to win; not just the battle but his forever-war against the twosome.

Why is Skeletor so determined to become Eternia's leader? In the early minicomics released by Mattel, it's revealed that Skeletor was once Keldor, a powerful sorcerer and King Randor's brother — making him Adam's uncle. Keldor studies under Hordak, and learning magic from him corrupted him thoroughly, setting him on a path of evil.

This origin story changes somewhat in the Filmation cartoon, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," and Netflix's "Masters of the Universe: Revelation;" in both of those outings, Randor and Keldor are not related. In the Filmation cartoon, Skeletor is a demon from another dimension with no formal blood connection to the royal family. In the Netflix series, Keldor is a powerful sorcerer who is a Hordak spy, and becomes Skeletor after accidentally burning the flesh of his face off with acid after losing to Randor in a duel. Any way you slice it, things are definitely personal between the two factions that goes back generations.

Even the most incurious '80s kid knows that when Prince Adam holds the Power Sword aloft and says "By the power of Grayskull, I have the POWER," he will be transformed into his musclebound alter ego. But his connection to his sword didn't start with the Sorceress of Grayskull simply giving him the weapon. 

In the comic book "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Sword of Flaws #3," the sword and He-Man's powers are given a backstory when another power sword pops up in a far Eternian mountain range. While he competes with Skeletor to grab the weapon, Orok and the Sorceress research the sword's past. They discover that the mystery of the Power Sword goes all the way back to the founding of Grayskull itself.

Once, in the future land that would be Grayskull Castle, the Quadrant of Powers used to gather. These powerful leaders realized that technology might overcome magic in the near future, and an architect named Gray was hired to create a castle that would protect the ancient Magic of the Light, and the sword that embodies it, from harm. The power of Grayskull is literally this — the power of Gray, filtered through his skull-shaped domicile.

But the Snakemen realized that it would be wise to claim the magic for themselves. The Great Wars ensue, which lead to the rise of He-Ro, the first man to wield the Power Sword. In some continuities, He-Ro is an ancestor of He-Man's, and the additional resemblance between them and Gray suggests that both He-Ro and He-Man descended from the same scientist and architect from ancient Eternia.  One of the biggest moments in "Master of the Universe: Revelation" deepens the connection between He-Ro and He-Man, though in this version of events they're not related.

"Masters of the Universe" is set to do something no He-Man property has done before; estrange him from life in Eternia. Per the official blurb for the film, this version of Prince Adam was secreted away from the royal family when he was 10-years-old, due to a bloody civil war. His mother, Marlena (Charlotte Riley), puts him on Earth, believing that he would be safer there, and makes sure he uses her maiden name, Glenn. He has been raised since then among his mother's people. 

Both trailers plainly explain that Adam still remembers his life on Eternia even though more than 15 years have passed by. He has a workaday job that makes him miserable, but the sight of the Power Sword being brandished by a mannequin in a comic book shop immediately sparks his desire to return to Eternia.

He figures out that He-Man is part of his birthright, as is the Power Sword, which holds untold magical properties. But he's going to have to face Skeletor (voiced by Jared Leto) to get it back under his control, and round up all of his old friends and allies to make a final push against the evils infesting his home planet. In any event, this is all fresh territory for He-Man.

Another plot detail that's slipped out regarding "Master of the Universe" is that Evil-Lyn ("Community" star Alison Brie) has been posing as another woman on Earth for some time. She's pretending to be Prince Adam's college professor, Professor Evelyn Powers, and has put herself in a position of authority over him, becoming a mentor figure. Naturally, she's been trying to manipulate him away from his destiny, but his encounter with the Power Sword prevents her wily ways from affecting Adam's future.

Evil-Lyn's secret identity is a nod to her long-deleted origin story. In the bible for the Filmation cartoon series, she was Evelyn Powers, a scientist on the same vessel that takes Marlena to Eternia. Intensely jealous of Marlena's skills, she has no qualms about joining Skeletor when the ship crash-lands and she ends up on Infinita, his homeworld. She then makes the easy jump from being a scientist to being a sorceress. 

This version of Evil-Lyn's backstory has never made it into any official "Masters of the Universe" project and her origin story has subsequently been wildly different over the course of each production. Still, this is an intriguing deep cut for fans of the franchise looking out for Easter eggs. 

One thing "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" did was import Earth natives to provide an outsider point of view of life on Eternia. This happened in "He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special," and in the epically cheesy 1987 feature film, where Julie Winston (Courteney Cox) and Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeill) are two 80s' teens who find themselves in the middle of an Eternian conflict over a technological gizmo. They find themselves helping out He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and his friends when they all — Frank Langella as Skeletor included — wind up on Earth.

"Masters of the Universe" looks poised to take things in a different direction by making Adam himself the fish out of water who must readjust to life on his native planet. On top of that, only two major characters in the film represent his time on earth — his friend Suzie (Sasheer Zamata) and his roommate, Hussein (Christian Vunipola). That means the movie is likely to be thoroughly concerned with Eternian life and politics instead of Earth-based observations on Eternian existence.

Only one member of He-Man's regular posse isn't visible in the trailer for "Masters of the Universe," and that's Orko. Largely used as comic relief on the cartoons, the bumbling magician from the planet Trolla often learns life lessons the hard way, standing in for the kids watching the show at home. 

There's no word as of this writing as to whether Orko will show up in some form in the film, though rumors have begun to fly that he does have a secret cameo in the movie that's being kept under wraps. Perhaps he'll end up in a post-credit scene, or he'll pop up as a background gag. Maybe he will just appear, unremarked upon, in a single frame of the movie and fans will have to pause the flick to notice him. Old-school Orko haters will probably prefer that outcome.

In any event, the movie's crew has remain tight-lipped on the subject, leaving the character's fate an undeclared and undecided one. But since the film already appears to be laden with references to all sorts of "MOTU" ephemera, it seems likely he'll pop up in some form.

There is one more important figure in Adam's life who doesn't factor into the trailers at all. As noted above, Adam has a twin sister named Adora, and the twosome were separated in their infancy. Adora, taken away to the planet Etheria, becomes a member of the Horde and expresses loyalty to her "father," Hordak. Everything changes when Adam learns the truth about his sister's existence. Adora learns that she has a special magical destiny all her own. She soon defects to the rebellion against the Horde.

Adora is subject to a similar legacy as Adam — when she holds her sword aloft, she transforms into the mighty She-Ra, and her horse Spirit becomes the winged unicorn Swift Wind. They battle evil just as Adam does on Eternia. Only adult "He-Man" fans might notice how strong the parallel between the twins' lives ends up becoming.

She's nowhere to be seen in both of the "Masters of the Universe" trailers to date. It's possible the events of the "Secret of the Sword" movie haven't happened yet in this iteration of the "MOTU" universe. Or the character is being held back for a future film, or producers have chosen to completely nix She-Ra from the film's expanded universe. It's impossible to guess at this point, but the character will be missed if she doesn't at least get a reference in the movie.

Who's behind the upcoming "MOTU" revival? A host of people with experience in making movies about family and nerd-friendly legacy franchises. The Nee brothers, Aaron and Adam, co-wrote the draft accepted by the studio, with David Callaham and Chris Butler later providing a rewrite. The brothers were originally set to direct the film together when the property was with Netflix, but when Amazon MGM Studios picked up the rights, they selected Travis Knight to direct the motion picture. The Nees are also credited with the film's original story, as are Alex Litvak and Michael Finch.

That's a power pack of talent, one that's filled with imagination and creativity. The Nee brothers are mainly known for their comedic work; Aaron Nee and Adam Nee co-directed "The Lost City" while also co-writing the final screenplay; Adam Nee also keeps an active acting career, while Aaron stays busy behind the camera.

Callaham, meanwhile, has writing credits on tons of superhero properties, including "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," "Wonder Woman 1984," and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." He also wrote a script for the first "Expendables" film and maintains a creator's credit for the franchise. Litvak wrote "They Will Kill You" and "Predators" along with Finch, who is himself credited with helping to pen "The November Man" and "John Wick: Chapter 4."

Director Knight, meanwhile, helmed "Bumblebee" and was a friendly face for Laika studios, co-producing films like "The Boxtrolls" and "Paranorman." In short: there's plenty of nostalgia ahead for fans, as well as a hefty dose of action-packed comedy for those who are hoping Adam and his cohorts won't forget their campy roots.

It took decades for "Masters of the Universe" to get on the road in its current state, and the franchise was the victim of a long series of failed reboot attempts. John Woo tried to get a version off the ground in 2007 at Fox, but the rights went back to Mattel after Fox failed to okay the project. Warner Bros. Pictures was next, but Sony Pictures Entertainment snagged the rights next. Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch tried resculpting the script;  Mike Finch and Alex Litvak were brought aboard at this juncture. John Stevenson was hired as a director with Evan Daugherty lined up to write the script.

In 2012, Stevenson was swapped out for Jon M. Chu, who promised a more serious take on the property. Richard Wenk was hired to craft a screenplay that matched this tone. Terry Rossio replaced Wenk, and Chu left the project. In 2014, Jeff Wadlow was selected to replace Chu, and he started rewriting the script. Christopher Yost took over writing duties in 2015; McG was hired to direct; he left the project in 2017 and was replaced by David S. Goyer, who was set to direct and write the movie. The Nee Brothers finally came aboard in 2019, with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway selected as the new scriptwriters. 

The rights then reverted to Netflix. The Nees wrote a fresh treatment with David Callaham, which ended up being the version used for the final film. Netflix dropped out due to budgetary concerns, and Amazon MGM Studios stepped into the picture in 2023. Travis Knight was subsequently hired and the film as it now exists began to take shape. Got all that? Don't worry about it.

And how do fans feel about the teaser trailer Amazon MGM Studios dropped in January? He-Man fans seem to be over the moon about the choices the studio and its director and writers made, and all of them are saying the same thing about the "Masters of the Universe" trailer as a result — their nostalgia senses have been activated and they want more. Ben Massa at He-Man.org weighed in, declaring, "All I can say is never in my life after 1987, have I been more excited to watch a movie in the theater. I hope Dolph makes a cameo. I hope Eternia will survive. I hope the scenes we got today are the boring ones!"

Fans at the He-Man collectors subreddit were similarly engaged. "This looks epic it's brought a 40 odd year old man to tears!! It's hitting me in the feels!" said u/Elyk38. But some fans were more skeptical. "This could be absolutely amazing or just plain terrible. There is no middle ground!" remarked u/Green117v2. Good or bad, fans will find out how Adam fares in his quest for justice when "Masters of the Universe" hits theaters on June 5, 2026.