Yesterday, MGM Studios released a short teaser trailer for the upcoming Masters of the Universe film. From that teaser, I took a few shorts in the dark on some details that may or may not happen in the full film. Today, MGM Studios followed up the teaser trailer with the first full trailer for the Masters of the Universe film. So, how did I go? Can I work out any new information from the full trailer? Let’s jump into it.
The trailer, as you can see for yourself in the video above, holds a lot of confirmation about the story itself. Adam, the prince of Eternia, is taken by his mother from his homeworld (dimension in this case) and is sent to Earth for his protection from the invading forces of Skeletor. Along with Adam, the legendary Power Sword was also sent with him so that he could return when the time is right, except the sword was lost, leaving Adam to spend his spare time trying to find it. After being informed that the sword is in a collectables store, Adam is able to return to Eternia, thanks to Teela, Man-At-Arms, and Roboto, to face off against Skeletor and his minions in order to save the world of Adam’s birth as the hero He-Man.
Yep, it’s a simple storyline. Some would say that it is a callback to the 1987 Master of the Universe film in some ways, but also a fair bit of 1983 cartoon lore. To be honest, Masters of the Universe doesn’t need a complex or deep plot, just good characters and a lot of fighting… And as you’ll see, we get a lot of fighting in this film.
First of all, let’s take a moment to marvel at the detail that MG Studios has put into making Eternia look as breathtaking as possible. The medieval setting is used extremely well, and the overall world looks like a painting, maybe a bit of a homage to the painted backgrounds of the 1983 cartoon? Also, we see the Sorceress in her bird form (known as Zoar) making her way into Eterno, the capital city of Eternia.
Castle Greyskull, the fortress where the ancients used their collective wisdom to create the Power Sword to protect Eternia from the forces of King Hiss, Hordak, and other invaders like Skeletor. There are many secrets held within, with many of them still untold to this day.
Eternos, the capital city of Eternia. This location will be central to the movie in many different stages. You can see some homages to the Eternia playset (one of the most expensive pieces for Masters of the Universe collectors) in the winding tower on the right-hand side of the image. Also featured is the Talon Fighter, a vehicle that is used by He-Man to get from Eternos to Castle Greyskull, though it might be different in the movie.
Our first shot of the inside of Castle Greyskull, showing the power sword in the Chamber of the Elders. This location is usually hidden deep within Castle Greyskull, as it would house other objects that the Elders created to defend and help Eternia. However, it looks better in the open when you think about how a movie needs to show, not tell.
The walkway leading up to the royal palace. A lovely looking shot. Note the kings of Eternia’s past in a courtyard-type setting. These could also be the Elders who first governed Eternia in the time of the Great War against King Hiss. I would be surprised if we get any information about any of these statues and who they represent.
Our first look at a young Prince Adam, looking out over the kingdom. The kid looks suitable for the role, and the simple-looking clothing gives him a common look rather than that of a royal child.
We see an adult Adam in his bedroom, it seems that he has an obsession with the power sword that borders on very scary, like we should be worried scary. All of those drawings are done by Adam, showing that deep down connection to the sword that is his destiny.
Eternos is under attack, with people fighting everywhere. You can see some of the laser blasts coming from something off-screen, showing that the “magic vs technology” theme from the original cartoon is alive and well in Masters of the Universe.
Queen Marlena, the human ruler of Eternia. Yes, she is a human from Earth. The lore is that she was an astronaut who got lost on a mission, jumping the dimensional barrier and crash landing on Eternia, where she married King Randor and became the mother to Prince Adam. Speaking of King Randor, we do not see him in the trailer… Is he dead? Is he alive? I guess we’ll find out on June 5th.
Here’s a shot of the Eternian royal guard. Is it just me, or do they give off Laser-Light He-Man vibes? (or New Adventures of He-Man) These guys look like they walked off the set of Starship Troopers, which is not a bad thing. The royal guard did have a version of the same armor that Man-At-Arms wears, since he made the armor.
We see a scene from the invasion battle, with Queen Marlena and Adam running through the halls of the royal palace. We also see the human form of Teela-Na, aka The Sorceress. Interesting to see that Sorceress’s outfit resembles the one from the 1987 film instead of the traditional one from the cartoons, an interesting choice.
ADAM GLENN! MASTER OF THE OFFICE!! Yeah, Glenn is the family name of Marlena’s side of the family, a good way to pay homage to the lore while giving Adam something related to Earth… and before people start going “oh no, fucking pronouns”, stop. Look at it again, and you’ll notice that it’s a play on He-Man. It’s a good joke; leave your politics at the door and enjoy the stupid.
The most powerful man at the water cooler looks bored, doesn’t he? As someone who worked in an office for many years, I can agree with his posture. However, in this scene, Adam does get criticised about being a nerd and being obsessed with swords by his boss or co-worker. Please don’t pick on the nerds, we’re the ones who are going to carry this film to box office success.
Adam posting about the power sword on a sword forum, hoping to find the sword. He does get a reply on his phone telling him where to find the sword. And where is it?…
Yep, it’s at a collectables store. I know in the teaser trailer that I said this might mean that Masters of the Universe might be a proper cartoon franchise in the movie world, but this scene might just be one for Mattel to flex their collectables catalogue for Masters of the Universe and other Mattel franchises. Keep your eyes open for a lot of easter eggs.
There’s the precious…
Bro! Do you even lift? Nice joke here, too. Maybe Adam doesn’t have the power.
The status looks to be very Conan The Barbarian like in design, also a possible homage to the Wonder Bread He-Man figure. For those who do not know, He-Man was created after Filmation/Mattel lost the license to produce the cartoon and toy line for the Arnold Schwarzenegger film series. Given the cartoon we got for Conan later, I’m happy that things happened the way they did as we got 2 great cartoons from it.
Castle Greyskull looks to be connected to the main city of Eternos via the courtyard I mentioned before. This is a big change since Castle Greyskull is usually found on the edge of the Evergreen Forest, a location that is far away from the main city to make sure anyone planning to invade the castle can’t just jump from there and hit the city on the way out.
Another shot of the inside of Castle Greyskull with the Sorceress praying or something in front of the containment thing for the power sword. It could be possible that this is the moment that leads to Adam coming into contact with others from Eternia once again, or maybe she is the one who sent Adam the message leading him to the power sword on Earth… Who knows?
Teela picks up Adam in the Talon Fighter, and they even seem to share a joke or something. It seems like this Teela is less aggressive than the other versions of the character. I doubt she’ll be a love interest in Masters of the Universe, but she’s not going to be the ultra-focused girl boss that we saw in those Kevin Smith series, thank goodness.
The Talon Fighter looks to be the vehicle that can cross dimensions, with a pretty rainbow effect. I can’t even put a location to where on Earth this is, but then again, I haven’t looked up any filming locations. Earth still looks decent anyway.
A look from inside the Talon Fighter as Adam and Teela jump from Earth to Eternia. Once again, the rainbow effect looks really cool here, and maybe this could be a moment to recreate the Adam laughing meme from YouTube.
We saw this shot in the teaser trailer. I’m posting it again so that I have another reason to get hype about those costumes. Man-At-Arms, Teela, and Cringer look so fucking good! Still not sold on Roboto, though.
Adam, Cringer, and Teela make their way towards Castle Greyskull, which looks devastated after a battle. You can really feel the weight of what’s gone on in Eternia while they have been waiting for Adam’s return.
Another group shot. We get a better look at the detailing that went into making Cringer a reality. I know it’s a CGI tiger, but damn, that is one good-looking green and yellow tiger. Also, notice that Cringer isn’t looking like a coward like he was in the cartoons. This makes sense since a tiger that would be brought up in a war-torn area would be some aggressive-looking in some way.
Once again, there are these two vehicles flying around Eternia, and I don’t know what they are meant to be just from looking at them. It’s possible that these might be either Disc Flyers or Roton. I have a feeling they are closer to Roton than anything else. But they might just be something made directly for Masters of the Universe in a way to make them somewhat realistic.
An attack on the courtyard area, complete with some of the statues getting destroyed. There are going to be a lot of battles happening in Masters of the Universe, which is what you should be doing in a movie like this. Stop talking, start fighting; I love it.
Another group shot, but we have a few new people in this one. I can see Fisto, Ram Man, and Meck-neck. However, I have no idea who the woman on the far left is, nor the person with the red robe… oh god, please don’t let the one in the red robe be Orko. Also, the skeleton faces on the left-hand side might be the Battle Bones carrier, something that was used in the toy line.
Here we see the Collector, the flagship of Skeletor’s vehicles. This is interesting to see because it looks like Skeletor has an army of his own, something that hasn’t been seen since the 1987 movie.
Hey there, bone-head! Ok, let’s take a moment to enjoy this reveal. Can you tell that it’s the movie curse known as Jared Leto? Nope, neither can I. Maybe we’ll be saved from his curse, and this movie might be really good, and we’ll actually be praising him for the first time that is not a joke.
Wow, we’re getting Spikor?! Dude looks SICK!
Fisto, yep, that’s a guy with a giant fist that’s called Fisto. Keep those dirty jokes to yourself, please. The shot after this one shows Fisto giving an uppercut that would look good in Street Fighter; maybe he can give those guys some pointers on how to make the fight scene look awesome.
Adam getting his ass whooped by Trap-Jaw. Once again, the villains look fucking awesome.
Beast Man! It looks like he is chasing Adam down on Earth, so we will get something fun and exciting before Adam leaves for Eternia.
Evil-Lyn. Interesting choice to keep her hair blonde in this version, as we can see behind the headdress, since traditionally her hair is white due to the toll her powers take on her. But I can forgive that since she is fighting Teela in this scene. Yes, I’m happy to see Teela keep her action status from the cartoons, so in a way, she is still a girl boss; just not a badly written one like in that Kevin Smith slop.
Say the line Adam!
HE SAID THE LINE!!
Ok, this is the one thing I dislike about the trailer. The transformation sequence is a huge moment in the film, and will probably only happen once. By putting this scene, in full, in the trailer, you kill the hype of the biggest moment of Masters of the Universe. It’s ok to keep some exciting moments for the movie itself, give us a reason to see it.
He-Man fights some of Skeletor’s army inside Snake Mountain. Once again, the environment and set work in Masters of the Universe is top-notch. He-Man on the other hand… I’ll talk about that more with another image below.
Outside of Snake Mountain. It looks so fucking COOL!!
A full shot of Skeletor… I love it! I was worried that they would mess this up, but seeing good old skull-face in the trailer was a great moment, and I’m hyped to see how well Jared Leto does with the role. If they put a reverb or something on the vocals, then I’m sold… Just avoid the high-pitched version from the cartoons, Jared, you’re not Allen Oppenhimer.
Ok, I like the look of the costume; it looks like high-end cosplay. However, I have a problem with Nicholas Galitzine here. He-Man is meant to look powerful, with big muscles that would make The Rock look as he does now. Instead, Galitzine looks almost anorexic. I’m sorry, but the guy needed to spend more time in the gym.
Once again, loving Skeletor here. The full outfit looks amazing, and the way Jared moves in this moment works so well. You can tell that Jared has put more effort into Masters of the Universe than he has in his last several films. I know it’s a bad screenshot, but Nicholas Galitzine looks horrible in this moment, but when it’s all in motion, the fight looks good.
The final moments belong to Skeletor, with a great “charge at the camera” moment, giving us a close-up look at him in action. The details here look amazing, and it leaves me with a hype that I haven’t had for this movie, or the Masters of the Universe franchise, in a long, long time.
Masters of the Universe stars Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam Glenn / He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Keldor / Skeletor, Alison Brie as Professor Evelyn Powers / Evil-Lyn, Idris Elba as Duncan / Man-At-Arms, Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto, plus others in minor roles. Travis Knight is directing the film, with Chris Butler writing the screenplay (initial draft written by David Callaham, and Aaron and Adam Nee). Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner and Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch are producing.
Mattel Films’ and Amazon MGM Studios’ live-action feature film, Masters of the Universe, based on the iconic franchise, will be released exclusively in theaters worldwide on June 5, 2026.
