He-Man's Costume Got One Major Change For Masters Of The Universe [Set Visit]

Director Travis Knight's new big-screen on "Masters of the Universe" differs from the 1987 movie in many respects, but they have at least one thing in common: they both ditched He-Man's furry underwear.

Speaking to /Film on the set of "Masters of the Universe," costume designer Richard Sale explained that while the "major goal was to try and be true to the original," the move to live action demanded some embellishment. The original costume designs couldn't be too complicated without becoming a nightmare for the comic book artists, the animators of the Filmation cartoon series, and the toy-makers at Mattel, so they were kept simple with flat colors. For this movie, Sale wanted to stay true to the core designs while also giving them "a history and a depth and a richness and a hive of detail."

The furry pants, though? It's pretty difficult to bring those to life without creating the impression that He-Man is wearing a merkin. "The fur on the whole was nixed quite early on," Sale divulged. "Yeah, the furry pants would have been just too difficult." 

Dolph Lundgren's He-Man sported a tiny pair of leather panties that actually offered less coverage than the furry underwear would have, but "Masters of the Universe" star Nicholas Galitzine is afforded a bit more modesty with a gladiator-esque skirt. Those leather strips (the technical term is pteruges) have the added bonus of giving He-Man some practical lower-body protection in battle. Power of Grayskull or not, you don't want to go into battle with your femoral artery exposed.

The furry underwear may have been ruled out at an early stage, but that didn't stop Richard Sale and the rest of the creative team having some fun: "We did tease Nick [Galitzine] at one point saying that he was going to be wearing the really tight tights and just the furry pants." 

Ultimately, it's for the best that He-Man's armor wasn't overly restrictive, because the actor who wears it quite literally grew into the role. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas described Galitzine's commitment as "absolutely staggering," with the actor being in a near-constant state of pumping iron in order to bulk up to the size expected of He-Man. "I'll be having a conversation with him and I'll go, 'Are you working out right now?' And he's like, 'Yeah.'" 

Galitzine's transformation to fit the role meant that his costume couldn't be finalized until the week before filming began, since the expansion in muscle mass affected how the armor would sit on his body — for example, whether the chest piece would be "nipples out" or "nipples in." As his trapezius muscles developed the costume team had to figure out whether the costume still worked proportionally: "Do we make the shoulders narrower? Do we make the emblem bigger?"

He-Man's most famous accessory will also play a big role in helping his muscles look their best. Around a dozen versions of the Power Sword were built to fit the needs of different scenes, but the "hero sword" is seriously hefty. When Galitzine lifts it above his head, prepare to see those biceps bulge.

"Masters of the Universe" will flex into theaters on June 5, 2026.