MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Featurette Unleashes New He-Man Action and Our First Look at Moss Man
The marketing for Masters of the Universe is digging deeper into Eternia, and this latest featurette delivers some seriously cool new footage.
Along with more action-heavy shots of Nicholas Galitzine wielding the Sword of Power as He-Man, fans also get their first proper look at live-action Moss Man, and honestly, like all the other characters we’ve seen, he looks ripped straight out of the classic animated series.
The character is played by stuntman Stephen Adentan (Gladiator II), and it appears filmmaker Travis Knight leaned heavily into practical effects to bring the fan-favorite Heroic Warrior to life. The result is a gnarly moss-covered creature design that feels refreshingly old-school while still fitting the movie’s larger fantasy world.
For Masters of the Universe fans, Moss Man has always been one of the franchise’s more unique heroes. He’s essentially a walking mass of plant life with the ability to camouflage himself within forests and control vegetation around him. In the lore, he lives within Eternia’s Evergreen Forest alongside its wildlife and natural creatures, and this movie version seems to fully embrace that weird fantasy energy.
The featurette also teases more of the scale Knight is aiming for with Eternia. Between the landscapes, creature designs, armor, and weapons, it’s becoming increasingly clear the director wants this movie to feel like the Masters of the Universe fans grew up imagining.
Costume designer Richard Sale recently talked about the challenge of adapting these iconic characters into live-action while still making them feel authentic. He explained:
"Through years of knowing what is and what isn't achievable, we knew on the outset, with talking to our team and our costume prop team, we knew we could do these characters justice. That's why we stuck with them."
Sale also addressed the balance between practical work and visual effects, saying: "Definitely felt like they were achievable within the costume department. And also with the story that they had to tell, Travis wanted that humanity there as well."
That practical approach may end up being one of the movie’s biggest strengths. A lot of these designs could’ve easily disappeared into heavy CGI, but from what’s been shown so far, there’s a tactile fantasy vibe to the world that feels much closer to classic adventure films.
The story follows Prince Adam, who has been separated from Eternia for 15 years. After rediscovering the Sword of Power, he returns home to find Skeletor ruling the planet. Adam is then forced to embrace his destiny as He-Man and fight to save his world alongside Teela and Man-At-Arms.
The cast assembled for this movie is packed with recognizable names, including Jared Leto as Skeletor, Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-At-Arms, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto.
So far, this adaptation looks like it actually understands the assignment. It’s embracing the weirdness, the oversized fantasy spectacle, and the classic characters instead of trying to strip them down into something generic.
Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5 later this year.