How The Masters Of The Universe Cast Should Really Look

The live-action "Masters of the Universe" film brings the classic 1980s toy line and Filmation's accompanying "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" animated series to life in an impressive way. In fact, the movie accomplishes the borderline impossible by managing to visually represent the source material so well. This is no mean feat: After all, this is a franchise where nearly every male character is a bodybuilder whose physique would cause prime Arnold Schwarzenegger to feel muscle envy and every female character is built like a supermodel.

The first "Masters of the Universe" reactions have critics largely united in praise, and it seems that the character design is destined to do the same for fans of the franchise. Smartly enough, the movie reserves the muscle stuff for the characters whose design absolutely requires it while using costuming and make-up to create surprisingly close and faithful approximations of the other characters. Still, even a film that has clearly paid as much attention to the source material as "Masters of the Universe" can't get quite everything right. Let's take a look at what the many major characters in the movie should really look like. 

"Red, White, & Royal Blue" star Nicholas Galitzine consumed up to 5,000 calories a day and worked out seven days a week to get suitably ripped for the role of He-Man. He can also pull off the boy scout look of both the heroic character and his meek "Clark Kent" persona Prince Adam, so the actor is certainly well cast. There are, however, some differences between the live-action version and the He-Man of the source material. 

For one, the comic-slash-toy line He-Man sports a page boy haircut that — perhaps thankfully — didn't make it to the movie. Here, Galitzine's locks are styled in a more contemporary fashion, but they still bring the classic He-Man hairdo to mind. Similar updates have been made to He-Man's uniform, which traditionally consists of an uncomfortable-looking tiny metal harness and furry hot pants. Here, it has been slightly reworked in order to avoid making things too uncomfortable. 

The 2026 live-action He-Man rocks a leather skirt and a crop top style chest plate, which are still very skimpy but nevertheless far more modest than the original look. Galitzine's Adam look with the salmon pink dress shirt is also a far cry from Adam's look in the original cartoon and action figures, which features a white skin-tight shirt, tights, and a purple velvet vest. The color palette is similar, but, just like with the He-Man look, it's been tweaked for modern audiences.

"Riverdale" star Camila Mendes plays Teela, the captain of the Guards of Eternia and Adam's lieutenant. At first glance it seems as though the film abandoned her classic design, recognizable by her elaborate coiffure and headpiece, but when you actually compare the classic character's uniform with the Mendes version, the white-and-gold themes are surprisingly close to each other. Movie Teela simply likes to wear her hair down, though she does appear with it tied back at some points. It's not quite as elaborate, but it's still a nod to the version of the character '80s kids grew up with.

Like He-Man, there are some elements of the classic Teela look that wouldn't translate well to live-action, particularly the design of the  Teela action figure. The toy version of the character has her wearing a strange snake-themed headpiece-slash-body armor that would have looked very cumbersome on the big screen. While it's still possible that we see a version of that particular part of her costume in the movie, the various animated series haven't had a problem doing away with it, so there's definitely precedent for a sleeker Teela look. 

The main villain of the movie is, of course, Skeletor. The skull-faced, blue-skinned, hooded sorcerer is easily the most iconic bad guy in the series, and as Looper's Skeletor explainer for the "Masters of the Universe" movie notes, he looks absolutely terrifying here, thanks largely to the fact that the movie faithfully adapts his face. While previous failed attempts at bringing He-Man's story back to the big screen planned on giving Skeletor a skull-like mask, "Masters of the Universe" director Travis Knight vehemently opposed that. "Skeletor has a skull face. That's just the way it is. It's a living, talking, emoting skull, and that's that. Don't mess with perfection," he told Empire.

Skeletor is portrayed by none other than Jared Leto, tackling his first major pop culture villain since his divisive take on the Joker in "Suicide Squad." Leto's muscular, hooded Skeletor is actually closer to the original action figure on account of the red pupils, which were missing from the filmation version of the character. He doesn't sound like the cartoon version, either: The actor's voice choice seems more Sith Lord than the iconic whiny approach of Alan Oppenheimer in "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe." That may bother some fans, but Leto's version is at least a lot closer to the original than Frank Langella's version from the 1987 movie.

Man-at-Arms, whose real name is Duncan, is an all-purpose elder statesman in "Masters of the Universe." Apart from being Teela's adoptive father, he's a capable warrior, mentor, advisor, inventor, and whatever else the plot requires. His green and orange armor and his distinctive helmet give him an instantly recognizable look. However, his famous mustache is actually not part of his original action figure design and comes from the Filmation animated series. In the 2026 movie, Man-at-Arms is portrayed by Idris Elba, a veteran of countless movies and hit shows and one of the most recognizable faces in "Masters of the Universe."

Elba brings his considerable charisma and presence to the venerable hero, and his costume is actually fairly close to the original, though it's been toned down a bit. Elba's facial hair is different from the classic Duncan mustache, and his costume is not quite as colorful. There are also some differences in the armor and helmet design, for understandable reasons: The character's usual attire is quite garish, and the original helm is so chunky that it wouldn't be easy on Elba's neck. However, on the whole, it's reasonably easy to take a look at the character and say, "Yeah, that's Man-at-Arms, all right."

Alison Brie honed her over-the-top villain game by playing a heel wrestler on "Glow," which was a life-changing experience for Brie. Here, she brings her talents to Evil-Lyn, the wicked "Masters of the Universe" witch who is Teela's de facto opposing force in the franchise. Evil-Lyn is far and away the most accomplished of Skeletor's minions, though she's also ambitious enough to harbor dreams of one day becoming more powerful than her master. Like many other characters in the franchise, she also has some distinctive elements in her design that the "Masters of the Universe" movie captures well for the most part.

Brie's Evil-Lyn design draws inspiration from multiple different versions of the character over the years. Her costume in the movie is a lot darker, but, design wise, it's pretty accurate, particularly when it comes to her distinctive helmet. Believe it or not, Evil-Lyn's look in the Filmation cartoon was actually toned down from the original action figure — the toy version of the character had bright yellow skin like a character from "The Simpsons" and the helmet was adorned with a skull, which wouldn't have worked well in a live-action film. The final movie design is close enough to Evil-Lyn's cartoon look that she's easily recognizable while also making her more menacing.

He-Man's father, King Randor, looks exactly like you'd imagine a king character in the "Masters of the Universe" franchise to look. He's regal, noble, bearded, decked in primary colors, and, like virtually every other male character in the franchise, you can tell he lifts. This requires a pretty specific combination of gravitas and physical presence, which is why "Rome" star James Purefoy is an excellent choice to play Randor. Casting really was the majority of the battle here, and they nailed it. When it comes to the character's design, the good king is one of the easier figures to bring to live action, since his original design is basically "a really buff king with a beard."

This definitely comes across in the "Masters of the Universe" movie design, though the wardrobe department opted for more armor and gold accents, keeping the overall color theme more muted. The original version of the character wears a blue cloak and a red tunic, and he has a golden crown and staff. Interestingly, Randor was originally depicted as a much older man in the He-Man minicomics that came with the action figures, but his appearance was gradually altered to match the version of the character in the Filmation series, which is where the movie draws its inspiration from.

Morena Baccarin is well-known to fans of science fiction and pop culture projects. Among her many roles are Adria in "Stargate SG-1," Inara Serra in "Firefly," Leslie Thompkins in "Gotham," and Vanessa in the "Deadpool" movies. You can now add to that list the "Masters of the Universe" character who's quite possibly the most difficult to faithfully bring to live action, at least when it comes to character design: The Sorceress, Teela's mother and the guardian of the legendary Castle Grayskull.

The Sorceress' usual attire wouldn't look out of place on a performer dancing the samba on a Rio de Janeiro carnival float. She effectively dresses up like a bird, complete with wings and a headpiece. While some hardcore fans will be disappointed about the movie version of the character, it's understandable that the wardrobe department came up with something a lot more subtle while still paying homage to the source material. In the film, the Sorceress wears an outfit that looks flowy and resembles feathers, especially on the neck and headpiece, which contains a blue glowing stone in place of a beak. 

The amazingly named Fisto has a massive metal fist that he uses to punch things. Fisto's original design contains a metal vest and the franchise's signature furry short shorts. The live-action incarnation, played by "Vikings: Valhalla" star Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, keeps the fist and the vest, but the character is given some pants and a leather loincloth of sorts — an update that the actor was no doubt pleased to learn about during fitting. 

In the source material, Fisto's main characteristics are his stern look, big beard, and, of course, his fist. Going by those aspects alone, the "Masters of the Universe" film pretty much nails the character. Movie Fisto's beard is just as impressive and his metal fist is a truly imposing thing. Even massive fans of the source material should be pleased with how this character looks in the film, despite his lack of short shorts.

The voice of Roboto, the only fully mechanical member of the Heroic Warriors, is provided by Kristen Wiig in "Masters of the Universe." Roboto's look in the 2026 movie is probably the most different from the original design: This version of the character is depicted as a gigantic, Hulk-sized robot. The look seems to be heavily inspired by the 2002 "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" animated series instead of the original action figure and the Filmation cartoon.

The original version of Roboto is strictly human-sized, with a see-through torso where a series of cogs rotate to show that he's, you know, a robot. He also has a right hand that can double as a claw, an ax, or a laser weapon. While the design is cool enough, Roboto's mechanical nature makes him — or, in the 2026 film's case, her — a character that can take a pretty hefty redesign, and boy does "Masters of the Universe" take advantage of this fact. 

Queen Marlena is the franchise's main connection to our world, though one of the things people often forget about Filmation's "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" is that the show establishes her as an earthling. While all other major characters are aliens — mainly residents of planet Eternia — she's actually a human astronaut who crash-landed on Eternia and ended up marrying Randor. As with her husband, Marlena's design is very heavily royalty-coded, and her signature costume consists of a crown and a regal green dress. 

Charlotte Riley's 2026 iteration of Queen Marlena is similar to King Randor in that her costume is effectively an updated version of the classic design. The crown is a touch flashier than the original, which looked like a chunky tiara. Likewise, her green dress bears similarities to the Filmation version, but the live-action one has slightly different details and accents. It's a look that pays homage to the original while updating it where needed, and that isn't likely to get any fan up in arms.

Trap Jaw is one of the cooler and more unique Evil Warriors from the "Masters of the Universe" toy line. A creepy criminal from another dimension, he starts out as such a formidable presence that He-Man and Skeletor actually have to team up to defeat him. Later on, Trap Jaw falls in line as one of Skeletor's minions, and his powerful cybernetic jaw and assorted weapon enhancements make him a particularly dangerous (though not particularly bright) figure. 

The thing about Trap Jaw is that his design is also one of the wildest in the franchise. His green, blue, and red color scheme alone is a potential eyesore, and as the Filmation animated series shows, it's incredibly easy to make him look ridiculous. This is why it's so impressive that the "Masters of the Universe" movie makes barely any changes in the character's original design but still manages to make him menacing. Sam C. Wilson's Trap Jaw is basically the action figure come to life with the bare minimum of changes.

It's probably fair to say that Mekaneck is a character that many fans wouldn't have expected to see in a "Masters of the Universe" live-action movie. Instead of the battle-themed abilities many Heroic Warriors have, he wields the peculiar power of extending his neck to extreme lengths. This has the makings of an extremely cool toy — after all, an action figure that can peek over various obstacles is a fun idea. However, the power's application in a narrative setting can be tricky, to the point that at least one version of Mekaneck is canonically insecure about the usefulness of his neck-themed abilities. 

There's one thing to be said about Mekaneck, however: The character's design is pretty neat. James Wilkinson's version in the 2026 movie closely resembles the classic look, though his helmet is far less angular and his overall design is sleeker than the bulky original. The signature mechanical neck looks pretty impressive, as well. For Wilkinson, winning the role was a huge deal. "Dreams do come true — especially the weird ones where your neck stretches 20 feet and Mattel turns you into an action figure," he said on Instagram after his casting was announced.

A few different actors played The Mountain in "Game of Thrones," but Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson's turn as the gigantic villain was the most memorable. He's the one who killed Pedro Pascal's character in one of the show's most brutal death scenes and then became Cersei Lannister's zombified protector. Given his size and power (the Icelandic actor is 6' 9” and weighs 400 pounds), Björnsson's a pretty natural choice to join the cast of "Masters of the Universe," even though his character definitely falls on the obscure side of things – Goat Man is a small-timer by the franchise's standards, to the point that he didn't even get his own action figure until 2014.

Goat Man may have only appeared a couple of times since debuting in the 1985 story book "Secret of the Dragon's Egg," but there's no denying that his demonic-looking design makes him a pretty good addition to the movie's evil forces. Interestingly, the character in the movie is even more ominous than the action figure. While the toy version of Goat Man is made to look bigger with a bulky red armor vest that adds to his frame, Björnsson's sheer size means that he only needs some prosthetics and a figure-hugging harness to come across as the gigantic warrior of evil. The fact that the movie version has two sets of horns as opposed to one makes him all the more terrifying.