• Amazon MGM Studios has dropped the final trailer for Masters of the Universe, opening with vintage footage from the original ’80s cartoon
• Nicholas Galitzine stars as Prince Adam/He-Man, with Jared Leto as Skeletor and Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms
• Director Travis Knight built the story around a bold twist: Skeletor actually wins before the movie begins
• First reactions from the world premiere have been overwhelmingly positive, calling it one of 2026’s biggest surprises
• Masters of the Universe hits theaters June 5, 2026

He-Man is back — and if the final trailer for Masters of the Universe is any indication, the wait has been worth every single year. Amazon MGM Studios released the last look at the long-awaited live-action reboot this week, and it goes straight for the gut: opening with real footage from the original 1980s Filmation cartoon before crashing into a world where Skeletor has already won.

That’s the big swing director Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) is taking with this one. Rather than retelling the familiar cartoon formula — villain schemes, villain gets beat, villain promises to return next week — Knight flipped the whole premise on its head. “We wondered, ‘What would happen if he actually won?'” Knight told SFX Magazine. “That’s essentially how we start our movie. Skeletor’s plan finally works.”

It’s a genuinely smart move for a franchise that spent decades stuck in development hell. Anyone who grew up with the cartoon knows the lather-rinse-repeat structure Knight described — and starting the film in the aftermath of Skeletor’s victory gives the story actual stakes that the episodic series never could.

What the Final Trailer Shows

The trailer opens on those vintage animated clips — a deliberate, misty-eyed acknowledgment of where this all came from — before cutting to Nicholas Galitzine’s Prince Adam grasping the Sword of Power and delivering the line every fan has been waiting to hear: “I have the power!” From there, it’s Eternia in ruins, Skeletor looming large, and a reunion of characters that longtime fans will recognize immediately: Mekaneck, Ram Man, Fisto, Cringer the talking tiger transforming into Battle Cat.

Jared Leto’s Skeletor gets a proper villain moment, declaring: “I might be a devil, but I mean to be a god.” The trailer makes clear the reunions between Adam and his old allies won’t be leisurely — as someone in the footage puts it, “the time for talk is over.”

What’s notable about this final trailer is what it doesn’t do. Despite the film receiving glowing first reactions from its world premiere, this cut doesn’t lean on those quotes at all. Instead, it trusts the nostalgia and the footage to do the work — and that confidence says something.

And yes, since it apparently needs to be said: Nicholas Galitzine looks almost distractingly good in that He-Man costume. The fit is more skin than cloth. These are, objectively, good problems for a movie to have.

The Cast That Makes It Work

The ensemble here is genuinely stacked. Camila Mendes plays Teela, Idris Elba is Duncan/Man-at-Arms, and Alison Brie takes on Evil-Lyn — Skeletor’s right-hand woman. Morena Baccarin plays the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. Kristen Wiig voices Roboto. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the man who played The Mountain on Game of Thrones, shows up as Goat Man. James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley play King Randor and Queen Marlena.

For the supporting roster, fans will clock Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, and Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw. Sasheer Zamata and Christian Vunipola play Suzie and Hussein — new characters who were part of Adam’s life during his years stranded on Earth.

There have also been persistent rumblings that Dolph Lundgren — who played He-Man in the 1987 live-action film — might appear in a cameo. Nothing’s been confirmed, but it would be a fitting nod for fans old enough to remember that one.

Knight admitted to SFX that reining himself in was part of the process. “At some point, I felt like I was being a ridiculously irresponsible fanboy as opposed to a filmmaker, so I needed to pull back,” he said. “This universe is so rich and dense. It’s got more than 40 years of history and mythology, so we’ve really just scratched the surface.”

Why This Moment Actually Feels Different

It’s easy to be skeptical about franchise reboots — especially one that’s been in development for as long as this one. But something about Masters of the Universe has felt different from the first trailer. The look is right. The tone is right. It’s threading the needle between the campy spirit of the original cartoon and the dramatic weight a big-budget theatrical release needs.

The screenplay comes from Chris Butler, working from earlier drafts by Dave Callaham and formerly attached directors Aaron and Adam Nee, with story credits for Alex Litvak and Michael Finch. The film is a co-production between Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Studios, with Sony Pictures International handling worldwide theatrical distribution outside the U.S.

First reactions out of the world premiere have been enthusiastic enough that Amazon clearly felt comfortable letting this final trailer speak for itself — no pull quotes needed. For fans who grew up watching Adam Glenn raise that sword on a Saturday morning, that’s a very good sign.

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters on June 5, 2026.

The post Masters of the Universe Final Trailer Is Here and It’s Pure ’80s Gold appeared first on Cream.

• Masters of the Universe held its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18
• Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, and Jared Leto lead the all-star cast in the Amazon MGM film
• Director Travis Knight revealed the film kicks off with Skeletor actually winning — a twist on the classic cartoon formula
• Knight has teased She-Ra will play “a huge part” if a sequel happens, with Prime Video already developing a live-action She-Ra series
• Fan-favorite character Orko has been conspicuously absent from all marketing, fueling theories about a post-credits reveal

By the Power of Grayskull — He-Man has officially arrived. The world premiere of Masters of the Universe went down Monday night at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and while full reviews are still under embargo ahead of the film’s June 5 release, Amazon MGM gave premiere attendees the green light to post their immediate reactions on social media. The early word? The crowd was feeling it.

Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, and Idris Elba led the red carpet, with Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin, Sasheer Zamata, director Travis Knight, and — in a genuinely fun nod to franchise history — Dolph Lundgren, who played He-Man in the original 1987 film, all turning out for the occasion. Idris brought his wife Sabrina Elba along for the night. Camila arrived in a Cong Tri dress. And yes, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the man who plays Goat Man, was also there, because of course he was.

The film follows Prince Adam (Galitzine), who as a child crash-landed on Earth and grew up as the thoroughly ordinary Adam Glenn — separated from his Sword of Power and completely cut off from his true identity. Fifteen years later, the sword finds its way back to him, pulling him toward a destroyed Eternia now ruled by the villainous Skeletor (Jared Leto). To reclaim his world, Adam must reunite with Teela (Mendes) and Man-At-Arms (Elba) and finally step into his destiny as He-Man.

How the ’80s Cartoon Shaped the Story

Knight has been refreshingly candid about how deep his love for the source material runs — almost dangerously so, by his own admission. “At some point, I felt like I was being a ridiculously irresponsible fanboy as opposed to a filmmaker, so I needed to pull back,” he told SFX magazine. “This universe is so rich and dense. It’s got more than 40 years of history and mythology, so we’ve really just scratched the surface.”

He still managed to squeeze in some deep cuts. Ram Man, Fisto, and Mekaneck all make the roster — alongside Karg, Moss Man, and Goat Man — and the film’s core premise is itself a clever riff on the original Filmation animated series. “If you watched the Filmation cartoons from the ’80s, you know that Skeletor had some grand designs for power in every episode,” Knight explained. “He’s going to do some kind of scheme, he’s going to get his ass kicked and then he’s going to promise to return next week. Lather, rinse, repeat. We wondered, ‘What would happen if he actually won?’ That’s essentially how we start our movie. Skeletor’s plan finally works.”

It’s a genuinely clever entry point for a franchise reboot — honoring the nostalgia while immediately flipping the script.

She-Ra, Deleted Scenes, and What Comes Next

For fans already thinking beyond June 5, Knight has been dropping breadcrumbs. Asked about She-Ra — one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, who has been notably absent from all marketing — the director didn’t shut the door. “For me, She-Ra has always been a big part of the Masters world and a big part of Adam’s story,” he said. “Whether or not she plays any part in this movie, I cannot say. But if we get to tell more stories, She-Ra will play a huge part.”

He also confirmed that a significant amount of material didn’t make the final cut. “There are giant scenes in the movie that aren’t there any longer,” Knight said, expressing hope that the deleted footage will “get to see the light of day at some point.” Given the scale of what he was describing — fan-favorite characters, extended sequences — that’s the kind of thing that makes a collector’s edition Blu-ray very interesting.

It’s worth noting that Prime Video already has a live-action She-Ra series in development, with Heidi Schreck writing and executive producing and Nicole Kassell set to direct the pilot. The groundwork for a larger universe is clearly being laid.

The Orko Question

There’s one beloved character who has been completely missing from every trailer, every poster, and every piece of marketing — and fans have noticed. Orko, the lovable floating wizard who was a staple of the original animated series, hasn’t shown up anywhere. Until now, sort of.

The official film tie-in comic from Dark Horse, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Wings of Fate, appears to include Orko’s silhouette tucked behind the logo — a detail sharp-eyed fans spotted almost immediately. Whether that means he has a role in the film that’s been carefully kept out of all promotional footage, or whether he’s being saved for a post-credits scene or a sequel, nobody outside the production is saying.

Given that the movie’s roster is already stacked — Mekaneck, Moss Man, Karg, Goat Man, Ram Man, and Fisto are all in there alongside the main cast — holding Orko back to give him a proper spotlight in a follow-up actually makes a certain kind of sense. He’s too good a character to be just another face in the crowd.

The full cast also includes Kristen Wiig as the voice of Roboto, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena Glenn, James Purefoy as King Randor, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Malcolm/Fisto — a lineup that, on paper, looks like someone gave a superfan an unlimited casting budget and told them to go wild.

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters on June 5. The last time a live-action He-Man film hit the big screen, it was 1987, Dolph Lundgren was in the harness, and it bombed spectacularly. Nearly four decades later, the franchise is getting its real shot — and Monday night’s crowd seemed to think it’s ready.

The post Masters of the Universe Premiere: First Reactions Are In appeared first on Cream.

• Director Travis Knight confirms She-Ra is central to his vision for the Masters of the Universe universe
• Knight hints scenes involving the character may have been cut from the upcoming film
• A live-action She-Ra series is already in development at Prime Video with Heidi Schreck writing and Nicole Kassell directing the pilot
• Masters of the Universe hits theaters in June, starring Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, and Camila Mendes

Travis Knight isn’t ready to say She-Ra is in Masters of the Universe — but he’s also not ready to say she isn’t. And that distinction is doing a lot of heavy lifting right now.

Speaking to SFX Magazine ahead of the film’s June release, the director opened up about one of the biggest questions fans of the franchise have been asking since the live-action reboot was announced: where is Adora? His answer was carefully worded, clearly deliberate, and just cryptic enough to send the fandom into a spiral.

“I can say very little about She-Ra,” Knight told the magazine. “For me, She-Ra has always been a big part of the Masters world and a big part of Adam’s story. In the fullness of time, if we’re lucky to tell more stories in this universe, She-Ra will play a huge part.”

That alone would have been enough. But then he kept going.

“Whether or not she plays any part in this movie, I cannot say — but we definitely had many, many conversations about the character,” Knight added. “There are giant scenes in the movie that aren’t there any longer. I am very proud of the movie, but there are definitely things that I love that we had to cut. Hopefully, they will get to see the light of day at some point.”

Giant scenes. That aren’t there any longer. Fans are going to be parsing that sentence for months.

Who Is She-Ra — and Why Does It Get Complicated?

For anyone who grew up with the original Filmation cartoons, She-Ra needs no introduction. Princess Adora is Prince Adam’s twin sister, kidnapped as an infant by the evil Hordak and taken to his planet, Etheria — a setup that clearly borrowed some energy from a certain galaxy far, far away. After breaking free from Hordak’s control, Adora led the Great Rebellion against his Evil Horde, wielding her own magic sword and transforming into She-Ra: Princess of Power. She got her own animated series, her own toy line, and her own devoted fanbase that has never really gone away.

The rights situation, though, has always been thorny. When Filmation Studios dissolved, the cartoon and film rights to She-Ra split off from those of MOTU — which is exactly why the beloved Netflix She-Ra and the Princesses of Power reboot, which ran five seasons before ending in 2020, couldn’t acknowledge her famous twin brother at all. Mattel still owns both toy properties, but the screen rights have lived separate lives.

Knight’s comments suggest that barrier isn’t insurmountable — especially now that both properties are operating under the same corporate umbrella. The MOTU film is an Amazon production, and there’s already a live-action She-Ra series in development at Prime Video. Heidi Schreck — best known for writing and starring in the acclaimed play What the Constitution Means to Me, with additional credits on Billions, Nurse Jackie, and Dispatches from Elsewhere — is on board as writer and executive producer. Nicole Kassell, who has directed episodes of Watchmen, Westworld, and The Leftovers, is set to helm the pilot.

That’s a serious creative team for a property that, until recently, seemed perpetually stuck in rights-issue purgatory.

Knight Is Already Thinking About a Bigger Universe

When the conversation turned to sequels more broadly, Knight made clear he’s not approaching this as a one-and-done situation — and neither is Amazon.

“Here’s the reality of the situation,” he said. “A company like Amazon isn’t going to take on a property like this if they don’t think there’s potential to tell more stories within this world — and I agree with that point of view. Masters is a very dense universe. There’s so much mythology, there are so many incredible, interesting characters and there are so many different types of stories you can tell within this space.”

The film itself centers on Prince Adam — played by Nicholas Galitzine — who has spent years on Earth searching for the Power Sword and a way back to Eternia, only to return and find his home under the iron grip of Skeletor. Jared Leto plays the skull-faced villain, with Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Camila Mendes as Teela, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, and Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn. James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley play Adam’s parents, King Randor and Queen Marlena. Kristen Wiig recently joined as the voice of Roboto, with Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw and Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops rounding out the cast.

Knight previously directed Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee, so he knows how to build mythology that leaves room to grow. Whether Masters of the Universe gets that room depends entirely on how it performs when it opens this June.

But those giant cut scenes aren’t going anywhere. And something tells us Adora’s story is just getting started.

The post MOTU Director Teases She-Ra’s Huge Role in Sequels appeared first on Cream.

• Amazon MGM Studios released 18 character posters for Masters of the Universe, arriving June 5.
• Nicholas Galitzine stars as He-Man, with Jared Leto as Skeletor — who the studio has kept largely under wraps during the press tour.
• The full ensemble includes Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Alison Brie, Kristen Wiig, and Morena Baccarin, among many others.
• Director Travis Knight fought to keep Skeletor’s skull face intact, calling the character “the embodiment of toxic masculinity.”
• Characters like Mekaneck, Ram-Man, and Fisto confirm the film is leaning into the animated series’ more outrageous corners.

With less than a month to go, Masters of the Universe is finally showing its hand — all 18 characters of it. Amazon MGM Studios dropped a full slate of character posters this week, and for fans who grew up with He-Man, Battle Cat, and the gloriously weird world of Eternia, these are a lot to take in.

The posters give us our best looks yet at the film’s sprawling cast, many of whom had only been glimpsed briefly in trailers and TV spots. Seeing the full character designs laid out like this makes one thing clear: director Travis Knight isn’t running from the source material. He’s sprinting toward it.

Nicholas Galitzine (Mary & George) leads the charge as Prince Adam/He-Man, joined by Camila Mendes (Riverdale) as Teela and Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-at-Arms. The story picks up after Adam has been separated from the magical Sword of Power for 15 years — exiled on Earth since childhood — before tracking it down and being pulled back to Eternia, only to find his home world crushed under Skeletor’s rule. To save his family and his planet, he has to become the most powerful man in the universe.

A Cast That Goes Way Deeper Than You’d Expect

The heroes side of the poster drop is impressive on its own: Morena Baccarin (Deadpool) as the Sorceress, James Purefoy (Rome) as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Game of Thrones) as Malcolm/Fisto, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig voicing Roboto. Battle Cat also gets a poster. Of course Battle Cat gets a poster.

Then there’s the villain lineup, which is genuinely stacked. Alison Brie (GLOW, Together) as Evil-Lyn. Kojo Attah (The Beekeeper) as Tri-Klops. Sam C. Wilson (House of the Dragon) as Trap Jaw. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson — yes, The Mountain from Game of Thrones — as Goat Man. James Apps as Spikor. Beast Man rounding things out.

And then there’s Jared Leto as Skeletor, who the studio has been conspicuously keeping under wraps throughout the press tour. His poster is here, but don’t expect to see much of him in interviews anytime soon — Amazon MGM is clearly saving that reveal for the theaters.

How Skeletor Got His Skull Face Back

The fact that Skeletor looks like Skeletor in this film is apparently something that had to be fought for. Travis Knight revealed that early versions of the script depicted the villain as a man wearing a golden skull mask. Knight’s response was immediate.

“I said, ‘F**k that shit,'” the director stated. “Skeletor has a skull face. That’s just the way it is. It’s a living, talking, emoting skull, and that’s that.”

Knight described what drew him to the character beyond the aesthetics. “Skeletor was a really interesting villain. He looked cool. He was scary. He was funny. He was insecure. And then of course he had this distinctive voice.” As for casting Leto specifically, Knight said it was actually the actor who came to them. “Jared approached us, because he loves Skeletor and has his own history with the character. He wanted to swing for the fences.” Knight added that he’s happy with where they landed, describing Skeletor as “kind of the embodiment of toxic masculinity.”

The character designs across the board appear to honor what made the animated series so beloved while translating it into something that can live on a massive screen. Mekaneck is there. Ram-Man is there. These aren’t characters anyone realistically expected to see in a big-budget Hollywood production, and yet here they are, fully realized and poster-ready.

Masters of the Universe, directed by Travis Knight and written by Chris Butler, hits theaters on June 5.

The post Masters of the Universe Drops 18 Character Posters appeared first on Cream.

• Laika unveiled the first teaser trailer for Wildwood at Cannes’ Martinez Hotel on Tuesday
• The stop-motion film has been in development since 2011 and production since 2021 — making it Laika’s first release of the 2020s
• Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay lead an enormous voice cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Tom Waits, and more
• Travis Knight directs from a screenplay by Chris Butler; Fathom Entertainment releases it in the U.S. on October 23

Fifteen years after Laika first optioned the book, Wildwood finally has a trailer — and it looks like it was worth every single year of the wait.

The stop-motion studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman, and Kubo and the Two Strings debuted the first teaser for its long-awaited adaptation at a press event at the Martinez Hotel in Cannes on Tuesday, giving the world its first real look at what may be the most ambitious project the studio has ever attempted. Backed by M83’s haunting “My Tears are Becoming a Sea,” the footage follows two seventh-graders as they venture deep into a hidden enchanted forest — and if the visuals are any indication, Laika has outdone itself.

Based on the 2011 New York Times bestselling novel by Colin Meloy — frontman of indie rock band The Decemberists — with illustrations by his wife Carson Ellis, Wildwood tells the story of headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) whose baby brother Mac is abducted by a murder of crows. Desperate to get him back, Prue charges into the Impassable Wilderness, a magical world hidden just beyond Portland, Oregon, dragging along her loyal but hapless classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay) for the ride. What they find there is a sprawling world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition — and a conflict that threatens the entire balance of the forest.

Meloy wrote the novel drawing on classic fantasy and traditional folk tales, weaving in a deep love for Portland that fans of the book will recognize immediately throughout the trailer. Director Travis Knight — who grew up in Portland himself — clearly shares that affection. There’s even a Hawthorne Bridge cameo tucked into the teaser for the locals.

A Cast That Could Not Be More Stacked

Lee and Tremblay lead a voice ensemble that reads like someone handed Laika a blank check and told them to dream big. Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Charlie Day, Tom Waits, Amandla Stenberg, Maya Erskine, Jake Johnson, Rob Delaney, Jemaine Clement, Blythe Danner, and Tantoo Cardinal are all on board — among others. It is, to put it plainly, a lot of talent in one forest.

Knight directs from a screenplay by Chris Butler, his collaborator on both Kubo and the Two Strings and Masters of the Universe. Knight is also producing alongside Sam Wilson, with Arianne Sutner also producing. FilmNation Entertainment is handling international sales out of Cannes, and Fathom Entertainment will release the film wide in the U.S. on October 23.

A Long Time Coming for Laika Fans

The road to this trailer has been a long one. Laika optioned Meloy’s novel just weeks after it hit shelves in 2011, and it quickly became one of the most anticipated animated projects in development — a status it held for years with almost no public updates. It wasn’t until 2021 that Knight’s involvement was officially confirmed, along with news that production was finally underway.

Stop-motion is painstaking work by nature, but Laika has always pushed the form further than anyone thought possible. Fans who grew up with Coraline‘s unsettling beauty or the handcrafted wonder of Kubo will recognize the studio’s signature aesthetic in the Wildwood footage — but the scale here feels genuinely new. The Impassable Wilderness is vast and alive in a way that suggests Laika has been quietly raising its own bar for the last four years.

October cannot come soon enough.

The post Laika’s ‘Wildwood’ Trailer Is Finally Here appeared first on Cream.