MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Star Camila Mendes Explains Why Teela’s Classic Skimpy Costume Got an Upgrade
This summer’s Masters of the Universe is bringing Eternia back to the big screen with swords, sorcery, and a massive green tiger ready to throw down.
While the movie is clearly pulling from the beloved ‘80s animated series, it’s also making a few modern tweaks. One of the biggest changes fans noticed right away involves Teela’s costume, and now Camila Mendes has opened up about why the famously skimpy look didn’t survive the jump to live-action.
In the original cartoon, Teela’s outfit was low-cut and showed off her legs, a design that worked fine in animation but might feel a little out of place in a grounded, live-action fantasy epic.
Mendes recently spoke with Empire Magazine about the updated look and revealed she was game for whatever direction the filmmakers chose.
"I was okay with it," the actress confirmed, "but they decided that it would be kind of silly to have this warrior woman trotting around in a swimsuit among all these big, burly men."
In a world filled with towering fighters and monstrous villains, giving one of Eternia’s top warriors a more practical outfit just makes sense. Teela is one of the few female characters in the story, and positioning her as a capable, battle-ready Heroic Warrior feels right for this new take.
Mendes, who many fans first got to know on Riverdale, looks like a perfect fit for the role, and the addition of pants to the costume isn’t exactly a dealbreaker.
The report also teased some seriously cool action sequences currently in the works. While the first trailer gave us a glimpse of Cringer, Battle Cat has mostly appeared in promo art and merchandise so far. That’s about to change in a big way.
The magazine reports, "In one fire-lit corner of the imposing set, a pair of female stunt-doubles rehearse combat moves in outfits that clearly identify them as valorous warrior Teela and her spell-flinging nemesis, Evil-Lyn. In another, Knight explains, his VFX team will conjure a huge green tiger [Battle Cat] fighting a shaggy orange-furred ape-dude [Beast Man]."
Battle Cat vs. Beast Man in live-action? Yes, please.
That has me hoping that the next trailer gives us a full-on shot of He-Man riding into battle atop his armored feline companion. Then again, saving that moment for theaters might make it hit even harder.
The film is directed by Travis Knight, who is steering the legendary franchise into a new era of big-screen fantasy. The story follows Prince Adam, played by Nicholas Galitzine, who has been separated from Eternia for 15 years. When the Sword of Power calls him home, he finds his kingdom in ruins under the rule of Skeletor, portrayed by Jared Leto.
To reclaim his world, Adam teams up with Teela and Duncan, also known as Man-At-Arms, played by Idris Elba, and ultimately steps into his destiny as He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe.
The cast is packed with talent, including Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Charlotte Riley, and Kristen Wiig. The screenplay comes from Chris Butler and Aaron Nee & Adam Nee & Dave Callaham.
Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5.