The 'Masters of the Universe' Live-Action Film Found Its He-Man — When Does it Come Out?

No, this isn't about the critically panned Dolph Lundgren movie that came out in 1987. A brand new live-action film for Masters of the Universe is officially in the works after a long and arduous round of development hell. The classic story of Masters of the Universe has been retold across decades. Prince Adam of Eternia takes up the Sword of Grayskull in order to defend his kingdom and the world from being conquered by the evil Skeletor. The long-standing franchise has seen multiple shows, reboots, and spinoffs, but this brand-new movie has been a long time coming. Its main star has just been announced, but when can we expect the film to be released once and for all?

Talks for the live-action reboot began as early as 2007. The film was initially set to emulate the visuals and special effects style of 300, a popular Zack Snyder film at the time. While production on the film barely budged, the project exchanged hands between several different directors. Even studios kept passing off the project. Warner Bros. was originally attached to the film until 2009 when Sony took on the film.

It wasn't until 2019 that the film started to pick up steam. The Masters movie was stuck in hot potato before it finally landed with directing duo the Nee Brothers, who are the team behind the upcoming Lost City starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. Principal photography was set to begin that same year, and the film had even found its first He-Man in To All the Boys I've Loved Before star Noah Centineo.

The film was originally scheduled for a March 2021 release. However, filming was delayed as rumors began to pop up that Sony would sell the film to Netflix. Amidst another halted production, a representative for Noah confirmed that he was stepping away from the film.

Cut to January 2022 and the current state of the Masters of the Universe live-action reboot. Deadline officially reported that Netflix did indeed acquire the rights to the film from Sony. What's more, He-Man will now be played by Kyle Allen, who recently appeared in the 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story and played Hawk Lane in all three seasons of Hulu's The Path. The film will reportedly begin production this summer.

"With our partners at Netflix, we look forward to showing audiences that anything can happen in Eternia," Mattel Films executive producer Robbie Brenner stated, as reported by Deadline. "We are continuing to unlock this global franchise in new ways, and we can’t wait to see Kyle battle it out with Skeletor in this epic live-action saga.”

As for a release date, it's far too early to tell. The film has been through the wringer for more than 15 years with directors and stars and release dates never sticking around for too long. But there's room for some optimism. The film is currently owned by Netflix, who already houses the current animated reboot along with the critically acclaimed She-Ra reboot. The eternally upcoming Masters of the Universe live-action film is more in-house than it's ever been.

For any He-Man fans out there, there's a little more hope for this film to finally see the light of day.