Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav No doubt buoyed by all the positive advance reviews on social media, Amazon MGM Studios has released one last trailer for Masters of the Universe, and it comes in strong with the 1980s nostalgia, chock-full of Easter eggs to delight Ars readers of a certain age.
Directed by Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings), the film is a reboot of sorts of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, its spinoff, She-Ra: Princess of Powers, and the many, many other offshoots of this hugely popular Mattel franchise. Per the official premise:
In Masters of the Universe, Director Travis Knight brings the legendary franchise back to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure. After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto). To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
In addition to Galitzine, Mendes, Elba, and Leto, the cast includes Alison Brie as Professor Evelyn Powers (aka Evil-Lyn); Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull; Jóhannes Haukur as Malcolm/Fisto; James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley as King Randor and Queen Marlena; Sasheer Zamata as Suzie, Adam/He-Man’s BFF on Earth; Kristen Wiig as Roboto; James Wilkinson as Mekaneck; Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man; Kojo Attah as the bounty hunter Tri-Klops; Sam C. Wilson as cyborg/weapons expert Kronis/Trap-Jaw; Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man; Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Malcolm / Fisto; Robert Towers as Karg; and Christian Vunipola as Adam’s roommate on Earth, Hussein.
The first trailer dropped in January and gave us He-Man’s origin story. When he was 10 years old, Adam Glenn, prince of Eternia and our future He-Man, crash-landed on Earth—the home planet of his ex-astronaut mother, Queen Marlena, who sent him there for protection from the forces of Skeletor. The now-grown Adam is an office drone with a penchant for nerd culture who has been searching online for his magic sword, convinced it will show him “the way home” so that he can finally confront Skeletor.
In March, a second trailer brought He-Man back to Eternia and reunited him with Man-at-Arms and Teela—as well as with the talking tiger, Cringer (who can transform into Battlecat). This final trailer goes right for the heartstrings, opening with vintage footage of the original 1980s series and segueing into Adam grasping the sword and declaring “I have the power!” Good thing, too, since Skeletor has declared that, while he might be a devil, “I mean to be a god,” and he’s not about to let Eternia’s prodigal son stand in his way. Mekaneck, Ram-Man, and Fisto make cameos but the reunions are short-lived, because with Skeletor on the rampage, “the time for talk is over.”
Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5, 2026.
