By the power of Grayskull: Cult '80s He-Man reboot hits the big screen
LONDON - Anyone who grew up in the 1980s is unlikely to have missed the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" animated series on television.
The franchise was a phenomenon that conquered children's bedrooms around the world.
Action figures, bed linen, school bags, lunch boxes, comics and, above all, the animated television series turned the muscle-bound hero from the planet Eternia into a pop culture icon.
Now, some 40 years and several spinoffs later, He-Man is returning to the big screen in a new live-action adaptation.
In "Masters of the Universe," British actor Nicholas Galitzine plays the lead role as Prince Adam, who transforms into He-Man with the help of his magic sword and the iconic words: "By the power of Grayskull! I have the power!" - becoming the mightiest man in the universe.
Beating up villains in a miniskirt
"Look, I obviously felt a sense of pressure just to sort of embody the broad shoulders of such an iconic character," says Galitzine, who was born in 1994 - long after the original He-Man hype.
"And so eventually the pressure just becomes a day-to-day routine. And before you know it, you're there on set with the miniskirt and you're beating up bad guys. It's just pretty fun," he tells dpa in London.
The biggest names in the cast include Idris Elba as Duncan, also known as Man-At-Arms, and Oscar winner Jared Leto as the villain Skeletor.
Leto, however, is unrecognizable behind a skeletal mask created with visual effects. TV star Camila Mendes plays Duncan's battle-hardened daughter Teela.
The search for the magic sword
At the beginning of the film, a young Prince Adam struggles in weapons training, much to the concern of his father, King Randor.
When Eternia is attacked by Skeletor and his minions, Adam's parents send the boy through a magical portal to his mother's home planet - Earth.
The magic sword is meant to guide him back when the time is right - but Adam loses it.
Years later, we see him in exile on a disastrous date. No one on Earth believes his story that he is a prince from the distant planet Eternia. At work, Adam causes a stir by searching for swords online.
When he finally recovers the sword, he can return to Eternia - only to discover that Skeletor now rules there.
The once uncertain Adam must embrace his destiny, become He-Man and face the villain and his monstrous allies, including Trap-Jaw, Beast Man and Spikor.
As colorful as the cartoon series
Director Travis Knight, who previously made the "Transformers" spinoff "Bumblebee," says the appeal of He-Man lies in its strange mix of genres.
"To me, it just goes back to reminding myself why I fell in love with He-Man," Knight tells dpa.
"But when I discovered it, I loved it. It was so unusual. It had sci-fi, it had fantasy, it had robots, it had laser guns, it had barbarians in furry knickers with huge swords, and it had a crazy, eye-popping riot of color everywhere. Funky designs. It was so weird. It was so odd and silly and fun, and I absolutely fell in love with it."
Like the original animated series commissioned by Mattel from Filmation to boost toy sales, Knight's film embraces a similarly exuberant visual style.
Audiences will have to get used to heavily artificial CGI backdrops and costumes that resemble cosplay. Alongside familiar characters, the film also introduces new figures.
A 1987 "Masters of the Universe" film starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man was a box-office disappointment. The new version, however, draws more closely on the style of the original animated series.
"And so it's holding on to that, for those fans of this stuff like me who've loved it their entire lives ... you can see it's recognizably Eternia," says director Knight. "These are the characters you knew and loved."
Simple story, plenty of humor
The story is straightforward, like a cartoon episode, and the acting is often functional rather than subtle. Elba, for instance, plays his role with the seriousness of a commercial, which is hardly surprising given the deliberately simple dialogue.
At one point, someone asks "Why would he do this?" only to get the answer: "Because he's bad." Some of the more emotional scenes come across as unintentionally funny.
On the other hand, "Masters of the Universe" leans into self-aware humor and delivers plenty of laughs - not all of them strictly family-friendly.
The film is packed with tongue-in-cheek references and Easter eggs, and audiences are advised to stay through the credits. Even the soundtrack contains hidden jokes in its song choices.
The score itself is a highlight. Daniel Pemberton, the composer for recent sci-fi blockbuster "Project Hail Mary," brought Queen guitarist Brian May into the recording sessions.
"It's big, it's operatic, it's theatrical," says Knight. The resemblance to Flash Gordon is also intentional - as it is one of Knight's favorite films.
A film primarily for nostalgics
Rumors of a big-screen remake were already circulating back in 2007. It took almost 20 years for it to finally come to fruition.
For longtime fans, it is an affectionate return to childhood nostalgia, full of fan service and familiar faces. Whether its deliberately kitschy, over-the-top style will also appeal to a broader audience is unclear.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 12:51 PM.