CinemaCon got the earliest — and we mean earliest — of looks at the long-awaited film adaptation of “Masters of the Universe.”
Despite some slim-pickings footage from set, the convention of global movie theater owners were dazzled by what Amazon MGM has set in motion with stars Nicholas Galitzine and Camila Mendes under director Travis Knight.
“It’s the rebirth of this incredible world,” said producer Jason Blumenthal from set. Director Knight discussed his long-held love of the toys and beloved ’80s animated series (he had a He-Man haircut as a kid, he revealed). He also showed off some huge set pieces that earned screams of approval from the crowd, including the fictional planet Eternia and He-Man’s iconic Sword of Power.
There was also plenty of b-roll from Galitzine’s workouts — wielding swords, bench-pressing and, in a criminally short snippet, flexing his biceps in a battle costume with the freshest blowout we’ve seen on a man in some time.
Jarden Leto stars as the big bad Skeletor (who was not revealed in any footage). Alison Brie, Idris Elba, Morena Baccarin and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (“Game of Thrones”).
“Masters of the Universe” needed muscles bigger than Galitzine’s to survive development hell. Netflix plunked down an eye-popping $30 million in fees and holds on a version of the project that involved buzzy brother filmmakers Adam and Aaron Nee (“The Lost City of D”), Variety reported exclusively in late 2023.
That version had a different star attached and could not meaningfully come together without a floated budget of $200 million. Oscar-nominated producer Todd Black (the “Equalizer” series, “Fences”) has been devoted to the material for years as it engaged with multiple studio partners. It finally stuck with Amazon MGM.
The project comes fro Mattel Films and Escape Artists. The Nee Brothers and Dave Callaham conceived the story for a screenplay by Chris Butler (“Kubo and the Two Strings”).