4 Actors Who Almost Played He-Man In The Masters Of The Universe Movie

In many ways, June 2026's "Masters of the Universe" feels inevitable. Of course Hollywood would eventually turn to He-Man and his cosmic/fantasy comrades to anchor a modern tentpole feature. Every other corner of 1980s nostalgia has been exploited endlessly for the silver screen. Film adaptations of popular toys are similarly common. Why not give He-Man the same treatment Max Steel and Battleship received? However, anyone familiar with the tortured "Masters of the Universe" production knows that this Travis Knight directorial effort existing at all is nothing short of a miracle.

"Masters of the Universe" has been stewing across countless corners of Hollywood for eons, with so many different creative visions and teams coming in to try their hand at realizing this property in live-action. For a while, it looked like it would become one of those movies based on toys that never happened. Across those many iterations of "Masters of the Universe," there have also been several different picks to play Adam/He-Man. Long before "Masters of the Universe" leading man Nicholas Galitzine was on anyone's radar, at least four other men were seen as having "the power" required for this part.

That each of these four actors almost played He-Man in "Masters of the Universe" reflects the wildly different creative approaches to this project. But before embracing the final form of "Masters of the Universe," let's take a look into the past at the He-Man actors that never were.

The history of the 21st-century "Masters of the Universe" reboot movie spans multiple film studios, each trying their hardest to figure out how to translate He-Man and friends into modern blockbuster icons. In the earliest days of this ballad stands filmmaker John Woo, an action cinema legend responsible for many of the best '90s action movies. 20th Century Fox's Fox 2000 division hired Woo to helm a "Masters of the Universe" adaptation in the hopes that it would become another one of his American cinema moneymakers like "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible II."

A name bandied about to headline this project as He-Man was none other than one of the recurring male characters on "Sex and the City," Jason Lewis. Having broken out on that HBO program playing Jerry "Smith" Jarrod, Lewis had the handsomeness, muscles, and blonde hair one would associate with this role. It also would've been this performer's big break into motion pictures, given that Lewis had primarily appeared on the small screen up to this point. Woo's take on this property never materialized, though, which ended up working out for Lewis. 

He eventually took a break from the limelight and major acting gigs. Given his proclivity for a quieter existence, tackling a massive blockbuster that would've required contract mandated sequels and global press tours could've been a nightmare for Lewis. This basically ended the Fox 2000 iteration of "Masters of the Universe." Time for another studio to enter the equation.

In the final months of the 2000s, Sony/Columbia Pictures became the next home for Eternia's greatest warriors. The studio was desperate for some new franchises and the world of He-Man seemed like a great fit for their vision. However, Sony cycled through many different directors and creative approaches in its more than 10 years attached to this production. One iteration of "Masters of the Universe" that seemed especially close to happening was when McG took the directing job. Here, "Twilight" veteran Kellan Lutz was rumored for the new "He-Man" movie adaptation.

After playing Emmett Cullen in four "Twilight" films, there was a brief moment where Hollywood zeroed in on Lutz to become a new leading man. This is how he anchored "The Legend of Hercules" and appeared as one of the young action heroes of "The Expendables 3." Lutz was always talking up his interest in the project, though the casting apparently fizzled out by 2017 when McG left "Masters of the Universe." At this point, Lutz was rarely appearing in major theatrical movies, thus making him an unlikely candidate to continue playing the part when a new director stepped in.

"Masters of the Universe" clearly moved on from Kellan Lutz, though him being the one major name firmly tied to the production for nearly a decade of this movie's existence is very notable. It's certainly more memorable than anything Lutz did in the tedious "Expendables 3."

In August 2018, "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" debuted on Netflix and quickly took off as a sensation. Immediately, its lead actors were hot commodities across Hollywood. That included leading man Noah Centenio, who signed on to play He-Man in "Masters of the Universe" just months after "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" premiered. When talking about the project, Centenio excitedly noted that he was endlessly rehearsing He-Man's most iconic catchphrases and that he was stoked to work with the project's directors, Adam and Aaron Nee. 

Given that Centenio was a few weeks shy of 23 when this casting was announced, it seemed that this new "Masters of the Universe" project was truly leaning into the idea of the film being an origin story movie. Even Kellan Lutz had reached his 30s once the He-Man casting rumors swirled. Centenio, meanwhile, was still playing high schoolers. Youthfulness wasn't diminishing the actor's convictions for this role, however, with Noah Centenio describing how he was getting ripped to play He-Man well into 2020. However, the "Masters of the Universe" chaos eventually capsized this casting. In early 2021, Centenio abruptly left the role.

He instead made his superhero debut playing Atom-Smasher in 2022's "Black Adam," further engaging with blockbuster cinema in upcoming titles like "Street Fighter." As for "Masters of the Universe," this project once more needed a leading man. Not even the rising "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" tide could give this woebegotten project some stability.

Just like Skeletor in the original "Masters of the Universe" cartoon, the live-action "Masters of the Universe" movie refused to die. In early 2022, despite countless setbacks, Netflix (which was now shepherding this endeavor) announced a new leading man for Adam and Aaron Nee's movie. Now, Kyle Allen was the centerpiece of this project. Allen's biggest acting credit up to that point was a supporting role in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story." He had also headlined another 2021 feature, "The Map of Tiny Perfect Things," and secured roles in projects like "Rosaline" and "The Greatest Beer Run Ever."

For most audiences, he was an unknown actor. Within Hollywood, though, Kyle Allen was clearly being looked at as a major leading man for the new decade. Tackling a big role like He-Man certainly could've only elevated that profile. In talking up the project publicly, Allen played things cryptically, though he reassured everyone that the film's creative team was stacked and determined to deliver something exceptional. However, the studio home for this project ended up being far less dedicated to Eternia. In 2023, Netflix's "Masters of the Universe" movie was scrapped.

The streaming giant didn't want to commit to this enterprise's hefty budget, which meant Kyle Allen's chances of playing He-Man had gone up in smoke. This devastating development for Allen did at least lead to happier news for "Masters of the Universe" — this setback directly preceded Amazon MGM Studios picking up the project and finally bringing it to fruition.