Masters Of The Universe Ending Explained: By The Power Of Grayskull!

Contains spoilers for "Masters of the Universe"

"Masters of the Universe" has enjoyed an exceptionally long lifespan for a piece of media that was created to sell toys. This spawned both a beloved cartoon in 1982 and a relatively maligned live action film in 1987. Getting another "Masters of the Universe" movie off the ground has been a difficult endeavor, much less in live action, but now, one is finally here that does He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine) justice. 

The newest flick from Amazon MGM Studios gets bonus points over its predecessor for realizing that audiences want to have fun in Eternia. The 1987 movie primarily occurred on Earth and followed original characters who are pretty boring. Outside of that, the newest "Masters of the Universe" is a colorful escapade that has everything fans want out of He-Man, while also poking some fun at elements that are pretty silly, like having a powerful warrior named Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson). That self-awareness is one of many reasons why critics were united in their praise of the film. 

"Masters of the Universe" ends pretty much how you would expect, but there are plenty of moments that set up a sequel and hint at the larger world to explore. So if you were too distracted by Galitzine's muscles to listen to anything else going on, here's what you missed in the ending to "Masters of the Universe."

Skeletor (Jared Leto) invades Eternia to become its tyrannical ruler. The Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) sends a young Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt), despite being the weakest among his classmates, to Earth with the Sword of Power so that he might one day return to overthrow Skeletor. Adam loses the sword, and he's a grown man by the time he finds it and returns to Eternia after his childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes) locates him.

A rebel force is working to topple Skeletor's reign, and Adam doesn't fit in. He's not particularly strong and prefers using his words, having previously worked in HR. But he's the one who can wield the Sword of Power, and by proclaiming "By the power of Grayskull," he transforms into the heroic He-Man, complete with outstanding strength. Once Skeletor invades the rebel base, Adam, alongside Teela, Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and Roboto (Kristen Wiig), have to flee and regroup in a forest. 

Skeletor sends out a message that Adam needs to turn himself in or else he'll kill Adam's parents, whom he's kept prisoner. The group goes to Snake Mountain where Adam fights Skeletor's forces, but his father, King Randor (James Purefoy), dies during the bout. Before his dad's last breath, Adam apologizes for not being strong enough, and Randor insists that he never had to be the strongest. Skeletor imprisons Adam and takes the Sword of Power, intending to take it to Castle Grayskull so that he may use it. 

Adam reunites with his mother, Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley), and his old pet, Cringer, while imprisoned. He may not be the strongest in his current form, but Adam inspires the others to rise up and break out of their cage. An epic battle against Skeletor's forces ensues, with Man-At-Arms fighting and ultimately defeating Trap Jaw (Sam C. Wilson), earning back his honor after Trap Jaw beat him years earlier. 

Adam, Cringer, and Teela go to the castle to find that the Sword of Power doesn't work for Skeletor. Adam tries using his words to talk reason into Skeletor, but he's a villain with zero nuance, meaning he just wants to fight. In the tussle, the Sword of Power gets broken. Skeletor gains the upper hand and enters Adam's mind, taunting him through his memories at the gym and his old office.

Then, Adam receives a vision from the Sorceress. He's dismayed that he can't get the power of Grayskull, now that the sword is destroyed. But she tells him that the power was never inside the sword. The power was in him all along, so Adam rejoins the fight and transforms into He-Man, with the Sword of Power fusing back together. 

Skeletor, of course, wants to talk once Adam becomes He-Man, but the hero is no longer willing to listen. Adam beats up Skeletor and ultimately defeats him. The only thing left of the villain is a skull. Months later, the citizens of Eternia rebuild what Skeletor destroyed, and Adam officially takes on the moniker of He-Man. 

The ending of "Masters of the Universe" features a concrete resolution where the good guys beat the villains, but there are several tags at the end of the film to suggest what's coming next. The first quick scene features Orko, the floating magician who was introduced in the initial animated series to provide comedic relief. While he was absent for all of the previous battles, he's here to recap the story of He-Man's glorious victory over Skeletor. Hopefully (or not, depending on your childhood memories), Orko will have a much larger role to play in the sequel.

The character introduced in the mid-credits scene will have a massive role if a sequel gets off the ground. Partway through the credits, we get a quick scene of Queen Marlena talking about how Adam had a sister who's still missing. We then get a glimpse of She-Ra, but we don't see her face, leaving the door open for a prominent actor to take on the role for the follow-up. She-Ra is the alter-ego to Princess Adora, who's the long-lost twin sister to Prince Adam. We didn't get a hint that she even existed in the opening sequence, but surely, a sequel will provide context as to what happened to make her go missing. 

Finally, the very end of the credits focus on Skeletor's skull still on the floor of Castle Grayskull. His sorceress accomplice, Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie), comes into the frame to retrieve the skull, and we hear Skeletor laughing ominously. It looks like the villain will be back to cause havoc in a future "Masters of the Universe movie," and a sequel could dive into more of Skeletor's lore.

Something only adults noticed in the original "He-Man" cartoon was that the entire enterprise was designed to sell toys. The storylines were pretty thin, featuring bare-bone lessons about friendship, but 2026's "Masters of the Universe" has a slightly different goal in mind. Surprisingly, the movie takes aim at toxic masculinity and works to deconstruct notions the audience might have about true strength.

Adam is presented as a weak child. Once he's on Earth, he works in HR, which is a traditionally non-masculine profession with the human resources field predominantly occupied by women. When Adam returns to Eternia, everyone continues to make fun of him for being weaker than everyone else. No one understands how this weakling could possibly save Eternia. But physical strength isn't everything, and Adam uses his wits to break his comrades out of prison. He even gives Skeletor a chance to talk things out before the final battle. 

"Masters of the Universe" makes a case for a more positive representation of masculinity. Yes, He-Man is super buff, and he still beats the crud out of Skeletor at the very end. But the point is that he tried reason first. A man can still have a lot of muscles and be willing to fight, but he should aim for other solutions when possible. 

These refreshing ideas of masculinity also apply to Man-At-Arms, who descends into alcoholism after losing a fight to Trap Jaw. He put his whole worth into his fighting acumen, but he realizes he can still be something more. He can still be a good father to Teela, which he failed at for many years, and find personal worth there. 

With a runtime of 141 minutes, "Masters of the Universe" manages to cram in a lot of story. And there was apparently a lot more to Adam's journey, as the film's director, Travis Knight, said that big chunks of the movie had been taken out.

Knight spoke with SFX Magazine (via ComicBookMovie.com) about this longer cut: "There are giant scenes in the movie that aren't there any longer. I am very proud of the movie, but there are definitely things that I love that we had to cut. Hopefully, they will get to see the light of day at some point." He also played coy about She-Ra's involvement, who only pops up in that mid-credits scene. But he's very excited about the story potential for her moving forward: "In the fullness of time, if we're lucky to tell more stories in this universe, She-Ra will play a huge part."

An untold truth of She-Ra is that there were plans for her to be in the 1987 "Masters of the Universe," but it was decided to save her for a sequel. Hopefully, history doesn't repeat itself, and we finally get a chance to see Princess Adora in live-action. 

The "Masters of the Universe" franchise has a formidable villain roster. A sequel could make use of any number of them, like bringing in Hordak, the leader of the Evil Horde who kidnapped She-Ra as a baby and brainwashed her. There's also King Hiss and the rest of the Snake Men, whose collective goal is to dominate Eternia. But when it comes to He-Man villains, one reigns supreme — Skeletor. Skeletor is the Joker to He-Man's Batman, in that he's the one adversary everyone wants to see again. 

Even though he's seemingly defeated at the end of "Masters of the Universe," the post-credits scene suggests Evil-Lyn, one of the best animated female villains from the 1980s, will resurrect him. With She-Ra also teased at the end of the film, it's possible the sequel will pick up with Hordak being a primary antagonist while Skeletor lingers in the background, recovering. Or maybe Hordak and Skeletor will team up to further raise the stakes. 

It's a bold move for "Masters of the Universe" to tease Skeletor's resurrection. The 1987 film had an infamous post-credits scene where Skeletor (Frank Langella) emerges from water and declares to the audience, "I'll be back," breaking the fourth wall. The newest "Masters of the Universe" isn't as egregious with its sequel plans, playing more subtly with Skeletor's return. Ideally, the 2026 movie doesn't join the ranks of post-credits scenes that teased movies that never came to fruition. 

"Masters of the Universe" is currently tracking to open between $25 and $35 million in its opening weekend. With a reported budget of $170 million, that's a far cry from a hit, and it calls into question whether the new film will spawn a franchise. Positive word of mouth will help in the coming weeks, and ideally, enough people check it out so we can return to Eternia in the future. But even though it's too soon to start speculating on what a sequel could entail, Travis Knight already has some thoughts.

During a roundtable discussion (via Nerdist), Knight elaborated on what he thinks a good sequel should accomplish: "I think about what happens next for Adam. Where does the next stage of his life take him? Now that he's properly He-Man, what does that mean? And at the essence of it is relationships. It's always about relationships for me. How do those relationships evolve moving forward?"

The biggest relationship to explore is probably that between Adam and Teela, as she kept things friendly with him in the film despite clear romantic chemistry. A future "Masters of the Universe" could explore them being more open with one another, and Teela admitting she likes Adam. And if She-Ra enters the mix, there could be fresh sibling rivalry. Or perhaps She-Ra wonders why her brother never went looking for her. We'd love to know the answers to these questions, but it's entirely dependent on folks showing up for the first film.

"Masters of the Universe" manages to cram in a ton of references and details from the original series and toy line into its runtime. But there are still many details of this franchise that could be explored in a sequel. With She-Ra set up to have a role, it would make sense to introduce Hordak, who typically kidnaps her. He could be the new threat who joins forces with Skeletor, looking to defeat He-Man once and for all. 

Skeletor's inevitable return also presents opportunities to explore more of his backstory. "Masters of the Universe" presents him as an all-evil entity, but there have been storylines where he was a student under Hordak's tutelage. He's also been King Randor's brother in certain iterations, so maybe he'll get a Darth Vader moment in the sequel where he tells Adam, "No, I am your uncle."

Hordak and his Horde, meanwhile, rule over Etheria, the sister realm to Eternia. That's right; there are many dimensions in this franchise, and a sequel could be something of a multiverse-hopping adventure. Orko, for example, hails from the magical world of Trolla, and since he's also teased at the very end, that world could be in the cards. This franchise is ripe for opportunities, and with the groundwork laid in the first film, a sequel could get really weird.

Toys have a bad habit of spoiling movies, and fans thought a "Masters of the Universe"-themed Uno card game accidentally revealed something major. There's a card with Skeletor on it, but he's holding the Sword of Power. Many assumed this meant Skeletor would transform into God Skeletor, something we've seen before in the 1987 movie and in the Netflix animated series, "Masters of the Universe: Revelation." 

However, the film subverts that expectation. Even though Skeletor does get the Sword of Power, it refuses to imbue him with any additional strength. The Sorceress explains that the sword doesn't give someone power, but that Adam was powerful all along. This would seem to close the curtains on ever seeing a live-action God Skeletor ever again, but honestly, it's too cool of a concept to ignore if a sequel ever happens. 

There could be another way for Skeletor to acquire the power of Grayskull and earn strength on par with He-Man. We've already seen He-Man beat the crud out of Skeletor once. With the villain likely coming back, he needs to do something to up the ante and give us an even more epic showdown. Meanwhile, at least a card game didn't spoil something huge about the film's climax.