Let’s go back to the glorious ’80s and ’90s for a second. While the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger took out a ruler to measure who had the biggest gun and the stiffest knife, a man made out of muscle and steel known as Dolph Lundgren announced his arrival on the block with a star-making role as the villainous Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. A few years after becoming Rocky Balboa’s greatest nemesis, Lundgren played two iconic characters in the shape of He-Man and Frank Castle.
While Masters of the Universe and The Punisher didn’t electrify the box office at the time, and were not universally heralded, they have gone on to become beloved classics, especially among film fans who appreciate the movies for what they are and who aren’t playing pretentious clout-chasing games on social media. Lundgren admitted he’d be down to revisit the Punisher and received a cool cameo in 2026’s Masters of the Universe reboot, all but confirming the special place that both of these roles hold in his (good) journey as an actor.
In a Reddit AMA, Lundgren revealed that he had actually been more familiar with He-Man than the Punisher at the time. “You know, I hadn’t read the Punisher comic,” he said. “I knew a little bit about He-Man because I’d seen the cartoons. But you know, back in the day, playing a toy was considered a very risky decision that could jeopardize your career. But now, it’s a big thing to be a superhero, from a comic book. But back then, it wasn’t like that. I am glad I did both those roles. It turns out that people liked those movies.”
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In 1987’s Masters of the Universe, many changes were made to cut down costs (it was a Cannon movie; what did you expect?). For instance, the film takes place mostly on Earth rather than Eternia, while Battle Cat and Orko are nowhere to be found. Despite this, Lundgren looked the part as He-Man, especially because of the ridiculous shape he was in and the confidence it took to rock what was nothing more than a Speedo for an entire movie.
Also, when he uttered, “I have the power,” it rattled in the viewer’s bones. What was it like for him to say this legendary phrase? “It was alright,” he wrote. “I think I was thinking of going home and taking a shower after fighting the bad guy in the movie. They smeared me with like two pounds of Vaseline every day. It got hot.”
Even though Masters of the Universe had only made around $17 million from a $22 million budget, Cannon planned to do a sequel. There was only one issue: it didn’t want to pay Mattel for using its characters. In the same Reddit AMA, Lundgren was asked if he had any details about the sequel. “You know, I didn’t hear about that,” he wrote. “I think Cannon had financial difficulties when [Masters] came out.”
Funnily enough, Cannon had already worked on sets and costumes for the Masters of the Universe sequel, as well as a Spider-Man movie. When both those projects failed to launch, it recycled the goods for Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Cyborg. So, in a way, Dolph Lundgren ended up being partially responsible for kickstarting his future Universal Soldier castmate’s career in the ’80s. The universe works in mysterious ways, indeed.
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Dolph: Unbreakable, a 78-minute documentary about Lundgren’s childhood trauma, career and cancer diagnosis, arrived on VOD and digital platforms on October 6. The film, which includes interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Randy Couture, is available to rent or buy on Apple TV (iTunes), Amazon, Google Play and Fandango. Lundgren’s memoir, Fights Worth Fighting, also landed on September 22 via Harper Horizon.
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