One of the more highly anticipated releases on the upcoming movie calendar has to be the 2026 version of Masters of the Universe. The popular franchise has been trying to get a live-action movie off the ground for years, and now the movie is finally happening. Although there’s a lot about it we still don’t know.
One of the questions that has been up in the air for some time has been the film’s tone. Based on an ‘80s cartoon that was silly as it was action-packed, recent rumors have implied the new film might be approaching the material from a more serious angle. While speaking to Collider, Alison Brie, who will play Evil-Lyn in the new film, implies that won’t be the case. She said…
Who said it’s leaning a little more serious? I don’t think they know as much as they think they know. That’s all I’m gonna say.
Jared Leto as Skeletor, Camila Mendes as Teela, and Nicholas Galitzine as the lead hero, He-Man.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the cartoon that was created to sell the action figures of the same name, was mostly an adventure series, but it had comedic characters, like Orko the unreliable magician, and Cringer, the cowardly pet tiger of Prince Adam who transformed into Battle Cat when Adam became He-Man. Even the ostensibly heroic ones were capable of being silly now and then.
It wouldn’t have been that shocking if the plan had been to do some sort of serious take on Masters of the Universe. It often seems studios are afraid that an adaptation that isn’t played perfectly straight won’t be taken seriously by the audience. And the material certainly could work as a traditional sword and sorcery fantasy epic, something that closely resembled Netflix’s Witcher series or even Game of Thrones in tone.
It certainly sounds like things won’t be quite that serious. If Masters of the Universe isn’t looking to be more serious, we could get something that’s a similar balance of action and humor as the original animated series. It would still have plenty of serious action, but with some lighter moments as well. For those hoping Masters of the Universe is a “faithful” adaptation of the original material, it sounds like that could certainly happen.