Mattel and Amazon MGM Studios transformed the TCL Chinese Theatre into Castle Grayskull for Monday night’s premiere of “Masters of the Universe,” a massive undertaking that shows just how much money, time and effort they’ve put into the He-Man movie.
Nicholas Galitzine stars as Prince Adam in the 2026 live-action adaptation of the classic 1980s cartoon/comic books/toy line, but the film is also notably Mattel’s follow-up to 2023’s Oscar-winning “Barbie.”
“It feels like the perfect complement. Where ‘Barbie’ was this perfect sea of pink that dealt with not only women’s issues but femininity and how women see the world, this is a man’s journey and how He-Man sees the world, how Adam goes through life,” Mattel Studios president Robbie Brenner told TheWrap on the red carpet. “‘What is a superhero?’ and ‘Can you have feelings?’ It’s such an interesting counterpart.”
“This movie really brings together the incredible mythology of Masters of the Universe,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz agreed. “It makes relevant, both for a new generation of fans but also to the classic fans of what was created decades ago.”
Galitzine was joined by his co-stars Camila Mendes, James Wilkinson, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kojo Attah, Jon Xue Zhang, Sam C. Wilson, Christian Vunipola, Sasheer Zamata and Idris Elba at the Hollywood event — with an appearance from original ’87 He-Man Dolph Lundgren as well.
“The scope of it is so incredibly massive. It’s such a rich and incredible universe, and it feels wholly unique, like something you’ve never seen before,” Brenner further stated, while Kreiz added: “What you will see is the breadth of our offerings: from the pink world of ‘Barbie’ to the dark world of Eternia, and everything in between.”
As for director Travis Knight, he opened up to TheWrap about how he knew Galitzine would make the perfect hero for his summer blockbuster.
“He-Man famously has the body: He’s got giant boulder shoulders, rippling pectorals, six-pack abs. But the most important quality, for me, wasn’t the body; it was the spirit, the soul. I knew Nick had charisma, he’s funny as hell, he can bring such extraordinary vulnerability to everything that he does,” he shared. “Then it was just a function of like, ‘Alright, now you gotta hit the gym, dude.’ He transformed his body and I can’t wait for people to see him. He’s so, so good in the movie.”
“I’m a child of the ’80s, so I watched those cartoons, I played with the toys, I read the comics. It’s so weird to be here, having been at the center of bringing this world to life in a new way, cinematically. I’m also incredibly proud, because everyone poured all they had into the movie. I think the movie has tremendous heart, it’s a ton of fun, it’s got great action,” the filmmaker continued. “I go back to the beginning. There was something about He-Man that was unique. In this era of big, muscular masculine dudes, He-Man always stressed empathy and kindness and connection; trying to build common ground between yourself and someone who doesn’t agree with you. I think that has stood the test of time. That is probably more important now than it was in 1983.”
For the power of Grayskull, see “Masters of the Universe” in theaters on June 5.
The post Mattel Execs Explain Why They Chose to Follow ‘Barbie’ With He-Man and ‘Masters of the Universe’ appeared first on TheWrap.
