New Masters of the Universe Trailer Has Even More Toys from Your Childhood

The first trailer for the latest live-action adaptation of Masters of the Universe played things safe and self-aware. We saw lots of Nicholas Galitzine bumbling around as Adam to offset the more sweeping shots of the magical world of Eternia, with only a handful of glimpses at arch-villain Skeletor. Most tellingly of all, the camera cut away when Adam raised the Power Sword to declare, “I have the power!” and transform into the mighty He-Man.

Those worried that this 2026 film would repeat the mistake of the ’80s version from Cannon Films and shy away from the toy line will be pleased to see the new movie’s latest trailer. This time, we see Adam’s full transition to He-Man and we get to hear Jared Leto‘s more growling take on Skeletor. Best of all, the new trailer is chock-full of characters and vehicles kids of a certain age remember from their childhoods.

Directed by Travis Knight, Masters of the Universe reimagines Prince Adam as office drone Adam Glenn, who still remembers his childhood on Eternia. Adam is called back to Eternia to help allies Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), Teela (Camila Mendes), and Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) against Evil-Lynn (Alison Brie) and the forces of Skeletor. Along the way, he flies some cool spaceships, fights some neat monsters, and rallies some more friends, all of which seem to come directly from the toy line.

Eagle-eyed watchers of the trailer will recognize Ram-Man (Jon Xue Zhang) among the rebels that He-Man gathers, and will see that he’s fighting Trap Jaw (Sam C. Wilson). One of the fight sequences involves Rotons, flying disc-shaped spaceships with razor blades around the edges. Even better, we see He-Man actually riding a Sky-Sled, the air-bound jet ski thing that was a staple of the toys and cartoons. While Leto’s growl is markedly different from the screech that Alan Oppenheimer gave Skeletor in the 1980s, CGI allows the character to look like a living action figure.

The trailer’s emphasis on Masters of the Universe toys makes sense for several reasons. First, Masters of the Universe began life as a toy, a set of figures designed by Mattel to cash in on the popularity of Conan the Barbarian and Star Wars. Everything, from the cartoon to the comics to the movies, flows from those toys.

Second, Masters of the Universe is directed by Travis Knight, who is not only the son of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, but also the CEO of animation studio LAIKA. Knight directed the live-action Bumblebee and Kubo and the Two Strings. Both of those films were moving, delightful stories about childhood and the power of stories, and both of those films revealed Knight’s skill at bringing inanmate objects to life.

In other words, Knight is the perfect person to direct a He-Man movie, and the latest trailer shows exactly why. If only they could figure out a way to put Orko in the movie now…

Masters of the Universe releases in theaters on June 5, 2026.