Now, I wasn’t expecting that. I was sitting in a theater watching a 20-minute series of clips from the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie. Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) has returned to Eternia, and he finds himself facing off with Trap-Jaw (Sam C. Wilson). Adam is trying to use some of the skills he learned back on Earth to mediate the tense situation, but the villain isn’t having any of it. He starts to beat the crap out of him when Teela (Camila Mendes) screams, “Use the sword!”
Yup. It was about to happen. The ultimate Masters of the Universe moment. A moment that, if handled incorrectly, could put a damper on everything around it. Adam touches the sword strapped to his back, and the second he touches it, he has a vision. It’s the Sorceress, played by Morena Baccarin. “Say the phrase,” the vision says to him, floating in the sky. Adam wasn’t expecting to see that and is a little shook by it. The vision returns. “By the power of Grayskull…” she says, trying to help.
And so Adam pulls out the sword and points it to the sky. “By the power of Grayskull,” he begins as the clouds above start to swirl. Lightning begins to crackle. It’s about to happen. “I have the power,” he then screams. Adam rises into the air. His clothes disappear, and his muscles start to build. Armor forms around him as the camera circles around in slow motion. Finally, he comes back to the ground, forever changed. He’s He-Man. And, right then, we get a POV shot of Adam looking at his abs. Yup. He’s changed, all right.
There’s more to the scene too, including a ton of action, but director Travis Knight handles the moment with absolute sincerity. He pushes it to the very edge of plausibility and fantasy and then acknowledges it for just a second. He knows this is wild. He knows it’s silly. But also, he doesn’t care. This is a freaking He-Man movie, and even though I’ve always been more of a tangential He-Man fan, watching this scene gave me chills. It’s that good.
That tone is apparent throughout the rest of the footage screened at the CinemaCon adjacent event, too. We saw Skeletor’s armies storming Eternos as King Randor, Queen Marlena, Prince Adam, and—yes—even Princess Adora try to escape. Ram-Man, Fisto, and Mekaneck are among the heroes fighting for them. Man at Arms (Idris Elba) promises to help the royals escape, kicking all sorts of ass on the way to the exit. That is, until he finds himself opposite Lock-Jaw and loses.
In this version of Masters of the Universe, the film begins with Skeletor (Jared Leto) actually winning. That’s why Prince Adam is sent away to Earth, to keep him safe. We even saw Skeletor’s speech to King Randor as the rest of the family escapes. He’s evil and weird, and it ends with a very awkward moment that feels perfectly Skeletor.
Basically, the footage was a very encouraging tease that Knight has found the balance to acknowledge the inherent weirdness of He-Man, with all the crazy creatures, rules, magic, muscles, and more, while also taking it seriously enough to make you feel for the characters. We can’t wait to see the rest.
Masters of the Universe opens on June 5.
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