As He-Man in ‘Masters of the Universe,’ Nicholas Galitzine shows off ‘intense training’ in first look
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Wielding the iconic Power Sword and boasting a muscular build, actor Nicholas Galitzine is showing off his take on He-Man for the upcoming live-action adaptation of “Masters of the Universe.”
The “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “Idea of You” star posted a first-look image on social media, writing that the anticipated movie is now in production. Amazon MGM Studios, Mattel and the film’s accounts posted the same.
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Mattel created the “Masters of the Universe” franchise, based on a genre-bending, sci-fi and medieval story set on the planet Eternia, in the early ’80s. With the popularity of MOTU toys, books and comics came video games, films and multiple animated series. There was a previous live-action movie in 1987, starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the villain Skeletor.
He-Man is the franchise’s central hero, known for his superhuman strength. The bulk of the franchise’s adaptations focus on He-Man’s conflict with Skeletor, who will be played by Jared Leto in the upcoming film.
The rights to a film adaptation have changed hands many times, but in May 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced the big-budget live-action project with director Travis Knight at the helm.
Days before the release of the teaser image, more cast members were revealed, including Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-at-Arms, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Camila Mendes as Teela, Morena Baccarin as Sorceress, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto. The cast also includes James Purefoy, Sasheer Zamata, John Xue Zhang, Christian Vunipola, Charlotte Riley, Hafthor Bjornsson and Kojo Attah.
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“Our director Travis Knight has assembled the most incredible ensemble cast and created a stunning tapestry of Eternia and its surrounding world,” Galitzine wrote on Instagram after saying he went through “several months of intense training” for the role. “I can’t wait for you to see. More to come, but until then, here’s a sneak peek at the Sword of Power. By the power of Grayskull!”
To transform into “the strongest man in the universe,” as he described his character to W Magazine in January, Galitzine said he was doing a lot of stunt work, weightlifting and eating.
“I’m eating about 4,000 calories a day, but the amount of physical work I’m doing, you end up hungry at the end of the day, which is quite surprising,” he told the magazine. “This is the fun part. I will eventually go into what’s called the cutting phase, where I’m going to be starved and so rude to everyone. I can only apologize for the person I’m going to become in a few months’ time.”
“Masters of the Universe” is set to be released June 5, 2026.
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