Idris Elba is in early talks to play Man-at-Arms in the upcoming live-action feature film “Masters of the Universe,” based on the iconic Mattel franchise, TheWrap has exclusively learned.
Elba would star alongside Nicholas Galitzine in the role of He-Man, Camila Mendes, who is playing Teela, and Alison Brie as “Evil-Lyn.”
Travis Knight is directing the film from a screenplay by Chris Butler (initial draft written by David Callaham, and Aaron and Adam Nee). Plot details are being kept under wraps for the film, which will be released exclusively in theaters worldwide on June 5, 2026. The movie will be produced by Escape Artists and Mattel Films.
Mattel introduced the world to He-Man in 1982 with the launch of a toy line (dubbed Masters of the Universe) and the debut of the animated series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” the following year. The show was about Prince Adam of Eternia, a man who looked just like He-Man, but was missing the hero’s tanned skin.
The show ended two seasons and 130 episodes later, but the story of He-Man lived on. In 1985, the animated movie “The Secret of the Sword” introduced the hero’s sister, She-Ra, who also later ended up with her own series, “She-Ra: Princess of Power.”
By 1987, both series had ended. Mattel reintroduced audiences to He-Man three years later with the release of the series “The New Adventures of He-Man.” The series was rebooted again in 2002, 2018, and 2021, as was “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” on Netflix.
Next up for Elba is the second season of Apple’s “Hijack,” followed by “Sonic The Hedgehog 3,” Kathryn Bigelow’s untitled White House thriller and “Heads of State,” also at Amazon.
Elba is repped by The Artists Partnership, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
