Nicholas Galitzine announced that cameras have stopped rolling on Amazon MGM Studios’ live-action Masters of the Universe, sharing a photo captioned “that’s a wrap” to 2.3 million Instagram followers on June 15. Principal photography began in London on January 6 and ran just over five months under director Travis Knight, with Fabian Wagner behind the camera. Knight, whose Bumblebee revival earned strong notices for its straightforward storytelling, stepped in after several stalled incarnations dating back more than a decade.
The film pairs Mattel Films and Amazon MGM on their most expensive collaboration to date, carrying a reported budget close to $180 million and a confirmed release date of June 5, 2026. Galitzine leads the ensemble as Prince Adam/He-Man, flanked by Camila Mendes as Teela, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Jared Leto as Skeletor and Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms. The 30-year-old actor told Entertainment Weekly his regimen required 4,000 calories a day and “months of sword work” to match the icon’s physique.
Amazon inherited the project after Netflix abandoned its own version in 2023 amid escalating costs, marking the property’s third studio move since Sony first developed it in 2007. Mattel executives see the film as a marquee chapter in the toymaker’s growing slate after the $1.45 billion success of Barbie last year, noting He-Man “remains one of our most globally recognized franchises”.
Comscore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian says studios are banking on intellectual-property familiarity to stabilise a still-recovering box office: “Audiences gravitate to brands they already trust—especially when the marketing can deliver a single, clear promise of escapism.” Industry trackers project the movie could open north of $90 million domestically if promotional momentum holds, a figure aided by social buzz around Galitzine’s physical transformation and a steady stream of costume teases from the cast.
With filming complete, Knight moves the production into an 11-month post-production cycle heavy on digital environments designed to evoke the toy line’s neon-tinted Eternia, while composer Bear McCreary begins recording a full orchestral score in Los Angeles later this summer.
