From the moment he hit toy shelves, Skeletor proved an instant classic villain. Just as He-Man is a cartoonish extreme of heroism (look at those massive muscles!), his nemesis Skeletor is a cartoonish extreme of evil: a cackling skull in a big purple hood. Enough said. And in his Masters Of The Universe movie, director Travis Knight is playing it straight – his Skeletor is a faithful recreation of the original character, right down to the eye sockets.
“Skeletor was a really interesting villain,” Knight tells Empire of the original cartoon incarnation. “He looked cool. He was scary. He was funny. He was insecure. And then of course he had this distinctive voice.” All of which offered plenty for Jared Leto to work from, as the performer anchoring the role in Knight’s Masters Of The Universe. “I wanted someone to craft their own version of that,” the director explains. “Jared approached us, because he loves Skeletor and has his own history with the character. He wanted to swing for the fences. And ultimately we landed on something that I’m really happy with. Skeletor’s kind of the embodiment of toxic masculinity.”
It wasn’t always going to be this way. A Masters Of The Universe reboot has been in the running for years, and previous iterations of the screenplay had Skeletor’s visage as a golden skull mask. “I said, ‘Fuck that shit. Skeletor has a skull face,’” Knight declares. “That’s just the way it is. It’s a living, talking, emoting skull, and that’s that.” Don’t mess with perfection.
Read Empire’s full Masters Of The Universe feature – going on set with director Travis Knight and his cast – in the April 2026 issue, on sale Thursday February 12. Pre-order a copy online here. Masters Of The Universe comes to UK cinemas from June 5.