The first official trailer arrived last month, and yeah, Masters of the Universe looks like it learnt a lot of lessons from Marvel. In fact, it has a vibe that feels closer to the Thor movies than the toys or the cartoon where this whole thing started. If you watched that trailer and thought, this is either going to work or it’s going to be a beautiful mess, you’re not alone. Director Travis Knight sounds like he knows exactly what he’s holding in his hands with the He-Man reboot. And he’s not trying to sell you realism. I mean, by the power of Grayskull—what else was he supposed to do with a buff hero who rocks a mushroom haircut, dressed head-to-toe in pink and furry animal shorts, battling an evil skeleton?
Travis Knight understands the lore, and he’s selling you the thing you probably didn’t know you wanted all along: a movie admitting the premise for the ’80s superhero, He-Man, is ridiculous.
“There’s an inherent silliness to it, which we are acknowledging and embracing,” Knight told Empire Magazine. “I think it’s a virtue, actually. And it’s woven into the script to help some of these things make sense to a modern audience. Like, why would that character have that stupid name? Well, over the course of the movie we show you why.”
That’s probably the right move. Because you can’t act shocked that He-Man exists. You can’t pretend that these characters are serious business. If the movie plays it straight, you’ll spend half your time thinking about how hard everyone’s working to not laugh. If it laughs at itself and doesn’t take everything overly seriously, you get to relax and enjoy the ride.
Masters of the Universe began as a toy line in the early 1980s, then exploded into cartoons, comics, and a cult live-action movie starring Dolph Lundgren. There’s plenty of goofy names, magical swords and impossible muscles that couldn’t be real. Fans know the rules already.
If you’re worried “silly” means “lazy” or “goofy,” remember Knight’s last live-action project was Bumblebee, one of the best films in the Transformers franchise. In the same way, he took a toy-and-cartoon giant and delivered heart, humor, nostalgia, and moments fans had begged for, like classic G1 Transformers battling on Cybertron.
The Masters of the Universe cast looks ready to play, too. No, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson isn’t playing the lead. Nicholas Galitzine is Prince Adam and He-Man. Jared Leto goes full Skeletor (let’s hope he keeps the classic voice!). Camila Mendes shows up as Teela. Idris Elba plays Man at Arms (who can argue with this?). And Alison Brie plays Evil Lyn.
The Masters of the Universe reboot arrives in movie theaters on June 5. If you wanted a dark Zack Snyder version of the character, this isn’t it. This is a movie about a guy with a huge sword who dresses in pink and calls himself He-Man.
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