Masters of the Universe seems to be progressing along well enough, and now a couple of new cast members have been added to the fold.
Every once in a while I get reminded that a live-action Master of the Universe movie is in the works, and today that comes courtesy of Deadline, who reports that two new cast members have joined the film as part of the titular group of characters. First up is Morena Baccarin, who you’ll probably know best as Vanessa in the Deadpool films, as The Sorceress, a magic user that watches over Castle Grayskull. Joining her in joining the film is Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Vikings: Valhalla) as Malcolm/ Fisto, who, uh, has a big metal fist. Don’t you just love characters that were clearly designed to look cool and to sell toys!
They join a (mostly) strong cast, including Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-at-Arms, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafthor Bjornsson as Goat Man, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, and (here is where they lose me completely), Jared Leto as Skeletor. I do actually think Galitzine is very well cast for the role, if you haven’t seen him in Bottoms he’s absolutely got the chops for a role as silly as He-Man, and Mendes’ tenure on Riverdale certainly suggests she can camp it up. Even still, I really do wonder why a live-action He-Man/ Masters of the Universe project has to happen at all – I know the actual reason why, it’s because it’s a well-established IP, but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
A recent look at Galitzine and Mendes training for their respective roles as He-Man and Teela was shared, which you can check out above, and the former certainly looks like he’s beefed up for it, so I suppose nobody will be let down in that regard.
The film is being helmed by Bumblebee director and stop-motion studio Laika co-founder Travis Knight, and is currently set to release June 5, 2026.