Masters Of The Universe Isn't Afraid Of He-Man's Meme Status [CinemaCon 2026]

After the infamous disaster that was 1987's live-action "Masters of the Universe" movie, Mattel's sword and planet-themed media franchise has been in dire need of a big screen adaptation worthy of the multi-generational fanbase. Fortunately, they may have found it with director Travis Knight's "Masters of the Universe," which stars "Red, White, & Royal Blue" and "Bottoms" veteran Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man. Galitzine was born nearly a decade after "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" went off the air, so his introduction to planet Eternia came from an unlikely source. All things "Masters of the Universe" have permeated pop culture, but there's a generation of viewers far more familiar with the excellent animated series "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" or the viral SLACKCiRCUS video of He-Man singing "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes than they are with the cartoon.

"'Masters of the Universe' has always had kind of an internet presence, whether it's in memes or the iconic song, and so that was kind of my in," Galitzine tells us at a special event during CinemaCon. "And I think the fact that the movie, its various iterations, is able to skirt the line between absolute sincerity and also being in on the joke and being tongue in cheek and camp at times, I sensed that immediately when I read the script, and then it made me want to, just like [Camila Mendes], absorb as much as I possibly could."

Knight's film is well aware of this franchise's layered legacy and has chosen not to shy away from it. In footage shown during CinemaCon, Galitzine's Adam is sitting in a police car when his city on Earth is attacked, leading him to ask himself, "What's going on?" Cue the 4 Non Blondes song, and the entire crowd cheering.

Kids of the 1980s were drawn to the ultra-macho physique of He-Man, but by the time he was given a story, he became an unlikely role model for emotional competency. The core narrative of "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" often centered on themes of kindness, compassion, and the profound value of friendship ... which, on paper, seems like a silly juxtaposition to the otherworldly, bugnuts lore on display.

But that's precisely what people love about it, and what director Travis Knight was trying to capture. A lifelong fan of the franchise and someone who, to this day, says the greatest gift he ever received was the Castle Grayskull playset, Knight has a personal investment in the success of the story. "Seeing Adam transform into He-Man was a really moving experience," he tells us. "It sounds strange to say that, but I'll never forget the day that we were on set and Nick did that incantation for the very first time, and I had chills. It was actually very, very emotional for me." He continued:

"And it was because of what this stuff meant for me. And so, actually, as we go through the movie, I think that you'll experience to see him become this person after all he's endured is actually a very emotional thing. And I think, visually, we wanted to try to do that just to showcase how what was inside of him was finally coming out to the exterior."

Meanwhile, despite not having the same level of familiarity at first with the franchise, Nicholas Galitzine threw himself into learning everything he could about the property to prepare himself for the importance of finally saying, "By the power of Grayskull ... I have the power!"

When asked about how he prepared for the first time, he, as He-Man, said the famous incantation, he tells us:

"Yeah, it's funny. It's obviously one of those things that you see on the schedule, and you kind of go, 'Oh, s***. That's the big scene.' And I kind of was very conflicted in my mind as to whether I wanted to rehearse it or, really, just feel it on the day. Which was actually something that I landed on, because as Travis says, I mean, it was emotional for him, it was emotional for me. I mean, this is someone who's been put down their entire lives and been told by his teachers, when he arrived on Earth, that he was crazy."

Nicholas Galitzine explains that the first time Adam has this moment and transforms into He-Man (like an extra-beefy magical girl transformation dripping with testosterone, no less), it's an empowering moment that validates the character's life struggles. " I wanted it to feel really from my core and my gut," he says. Galitzine prepared as best as he could, but after he said the famous line for the first time, he jokingly asked Travis Knight if he was going to be fired: 

"There's various iconic iterations of it now, of course, and you want to bring your own sentimentality to it, and I think we both really connected to the emotionality of this character and his sort of soft core as well as his hard exterior."

And those iconic iterations include the endless memes that introduced He-Man to a new generation, including the film's star. And if you're wondering if the Skeletor laugh meme will appear, too, you're in for a treat — though the jury's still out on whether he'll say, "I am not nice, I am not kind, and I am not wonderful!"

"Masters of the Universe" hits theaters on June 5, 2026.