MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Concept Art Reveals Character Designs From the Scrapped 2015 Live-Action Movie
While we wait for a trailer to be released for the upcoming live-action Masters of the Universe reboot, something pretty awesome has surfaced that offers a fascinating glimpse into a version of the film that might have been.
Concept artist Constantine Sekeris has shared early character designs from a version of Masters of the Universe that was in development back in 2015, and it’s an interesting look at a movie that never made it off the ground.
This particular iteration of Masters of the Universe was being developed at Sony Pictures and went through several creative hands. Over the years, the studio cycled through an impressive lineup of filmmakers, including Joe Cornish, Rian Johnson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Jeff Wadlow.
In 2016, the movie gained fresh momentum when McG came aboard to direct, and Kellan Lutz entered talks to play He-Man. That version didn’t stick either. After McG exited, David S. Goyer took over writing and directing duties, but his take on Eternia reportedly came with a price tag that was simply too high for the studio to justify.
The road didn’t get any smoother in the years that followed. Netflix attempted to revive the property with a feature film in 2022, but that effort also fell apart during development.
Eventually, Amazon and MGM Studios acquired the rights, with Bumblebee director Travis Knight entering talks to helm the movie. The script was rewritten by Chris Butler, building on an earlier draft by David Callaham, best known for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The newly revealed artwork comes straight from Sekeris’ time on the 2015 version of the film. He shared designs for He-Man, which appear to predate Lutz’s involvement, along with Teela and Man-At-Arms.
The visual approach suggests a more grounded, gritty take on the characters compared to the more stylized fantasy vibe expected from the upcoming Legendary and Mattel production.
Sekeris also shared: "Posting today some very old concepts on Masters of the universe from 2015," he writes. "Back then, I was hired for 6–8 weeks to do some very preliminary concepts based on the script and tone they were going for. I was going through old hard drives and found these as I thought I lost them and pulled them out of my PSD files.
“The script was absolutely badass and the director super awesome. This is /was a passion project to be a part of. I grew up on He-Man and all these wonderful characters to bring to life.
“I was a part of this brand for a good 14–15 yrs off and on, and explored sooooooo many different designs and tones of all these characters. I was not a part of the one coming out this next year and hope it’s a cool fun film I get to go back to my childhood."
It’s always bittersweet seeing material from a project that never crossed the finish line, especially when the passion behind it is this obvious. These designs give fans a rare peek into an alternate version of Masters of the Universe.