Masters of the Universe (2026)
Directed by Travis Knight
After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor. To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela and Duncan/Man-At-Arms, and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
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49 films that influenced Masters of the Universe
What critics say influenced Masters of the Universe
There are obvious comparisons to films like Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash Gordon, and The Suicide Squad in the film’s blend of irreverent humour, colourful fantasy aesthetics, and ensemble-driven chaos.
It’s clear that “Masters of the Universe” was modeled after “Flash Gordon” or, for a more modern take, “Thor: Ragnarok.”
The trailer gives off vibes of Flash Gordon, one of my guilty pleasures from the 80s that was wonderfully campy.
…come up with Flash Gordon and Thor: Ragnarök as camp comedy inspirations…
The fantasy camp of something like Flash Gordon coupled with the bloated fan service of your average Marvel movie…
The visuals pop with a Flash Gordon‑inspired color palette…
…only to bury its heartening Barbie-style deconstruction under every terrible action-comedy instinct plaguing modern blockbuster filmmaking…
Three years after the huge hit that was the Barbie Movie, another blond Mattel toy is getting its turn on the big screen.
After nearly two decades in development hell, Masters of the Universe arrives as Mattel’s follow-up to 2023’s Barbie but feels a decade too late. Direct comparison between these two films is not appropriate, however. While Barbie dealt with the existential crises of women and womanhood, Masters caters to the more straightforward audience, arguably, the boy crowd, seeking adventure rather than a thesis.
…made the auteur-driven Barbie such a big deal…
“Barbie” (2023) was another Mattel movie so MOTU could have been good.
The inevitable comparison to “Barbie” only makes things worse, raising the obvious question of why anyone thought this toy line could generate that level of cultural relevance or financial success.
…as Spaceballs is to Star Wars, that’s what Masters of the Universe is doing to… Masters of the Universe…
…as Disney has been learning the hard way with “Star Wars.”
Knight envisions Masters Of The Universe as a throwback blockbuster, recalling the sincere heroics of Star Wars…
…a firefight through a canyon and the analog-tech aesthetic of a Royal Guard base both feel knowingly ripped from Star Wars.
Desperate to catch up with the rest of its industry after missing out on “Star Wars,” Mattel conceived of He-Man as a chance to cover all the remaining bases at once…
Initially a barbarian character founded as a toy in response to the success of Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian…
…(looking at you, 2023’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”)…
The irreverent tone harkens back to “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” movies that captured the spirit of their source material.
If you were expecting “Masters of the Universe” (2026) (“MOTU”) to be the second coming of “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (2023), you will be sorely disappointed.
En ese sentido, la referencia cercana más evidente es 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor entre ladrones'. Ambas comparten una comprensión muy parecida de la fantasía como terreno para la aventura, la acción y el humor con espacio suficiente para personajes genuinamente entrañables.
I’m reminded of other movies with ostensibly silly premises that pulled off the magic trick of being better than expected, 2023’s Dungeons and Dragons and 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean.
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Director
James Gunn
Critics invoke Gunn by name, and compare Masters of the Universe to 2 of Gunn’s films.
Characters
On Gunn, rather than any one film
…he fits well alongside more emotionally in-tune saviors like James Gunn's Superman.
The new film owes a lot to James Gunn and his vision of Guardians of the Galaxy.
There are obvious comparisons to films like Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash Gordon, and The Suicide Squad in the film’s blend of irreverent humour, colourful fantasy aesthetics, and ensemble-driven chaos.
…though it tips into a kind of Guardians Of The Galaxy-esque visual fatigue by the third act…
…siga la senda de 'Guardianes de la Galaxia', con la que también comparte un tono juguetón construido a base de canciones pop, imágenes heroicas al ralentí y una permanente conciencia de su propia teatralidad.
…with the adventures of Peter Quill being a particularly obvious template for this ’80s-inflected story about a “regular guy” who’s thrust into the middle of a winking cosmic war.
There are obvious comparisons to films like Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash Gordon, and The Suicide Squad in the film’s blend of irreverent humour, colourful fantasy aesthetics, and ensemble-driven chaos.
Ask any fan about the main shortcomings of Cannon Films’ famously bad 1987 big-screen Masters adaptation.
I always liked the 1987 Cannon Films version of Masters of the Universe, but even then I knew it wasn’t quite the He-Man movie everyone really wanted.
…a beefier and more plastic adaptation than the 1987 version starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella…
For those who wonder if it is better than the 1987 Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV) film...how could it not be?
1987's Dolph Lundgren-starring MotU, for all its low-budget charm, was a turkey of such magnitude that it scared Hollywood off He-Man for decades to come…
And then other times, there are references to the 1987 Cannon version, cubicle farm humor, and attempts at profundity.
Transformers managed it twice out of seven attempts…
…he provided a welcome departure from Michael Bay’s Transformers vision…
…endless Transformers…
Knight supplied a sweetness and humanity to Bumblebee that were lacking in Michael Bay’s earlier Transformers films.
There are obvious comparisons to films like Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash Gordon, and The Suicide Squad in the film’s blend of irreverent humour, colourful fantasy aesthetics, and ensemble-driven chaos.
It’s clear that “Masters of the Universe” was modeled after “Flash Gordon” or, for a more modern take, “Thor: Ragnarok.”
The irreverent tone harkens back to “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” movies that captured the spirit of their source material.
The tonal and aesthetic cousin of Thor: Ragnarok, it's a film where the relentless need to crack jokes engulfs any sense of stakes.
…while the tone has elements of 2017's Thor: Ragnarok.
Idris Elba (Thor: Ragnarok)…
And yet what arrives is sub-“Thor: Love and Thunder,”…
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The production design draws on the pulp fantasy that inspired the toys, from Frank Frazetta’s artwork to Conan the Barbarian…
Initially a barbarian character founded as a toy in response to the success of Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian…
Masters of the Universe may never have existed without the popularity of 1982's Conan the Barbarian.
Most of the action unfolds in Eternia, which gives off serious vibes of Thor’s Norse realm, Asgard.
If the Taika Waititi-directed Thors turned you off, then be warned this dials up the comedy even further…
…but with a Thor aesthetic…
Some of the execution here feels akin to the first Thor film, where Chris Hemsworth maintained the exaggerated “Mighty” persona in a world of less-than-animated Earthlings.
…he’s played by Idris Elba, enjoyably riffing on his performance in the “Thor” movies with a déjà vu that works in the context of a movie this derivative…