{"id":664370,"date":"2026-05-25T16:33:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/664370\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T16:33:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:33:23","slug":"masters-of-the-universe-is-officially-doing-what-modern-fantasy-movies-forgot-how-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/664370\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Masters of the Universe’ Is Officially Doing What Modern Fantasy Movies Forgot How To Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 21, 2025, at around 11 AM BST, I discovered that it actually is possible to make a movie that is full of color. In fact, it is quite easy to take the vibrant source material of a cartoon like He-Man and translate that not only into live-action, but onto the silver screen where movies are now far more likely to vacillate between poorly-lit shades of grey and beige. Couple this with the realization that Travis Knight\u2019s Masters of the Universe<\/a> was using practical sets, awe-inspiring creature work and prosthetics, and highly-detailed costumes, and it became apparent that Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel had chosen the right creative team to steward this project to fruition.<\/p>\n

If you have read any of my reviews published throughout the last 5 years on Collider, you will recognize this oft-mentioned and incredibly un-fun factoid: the world as we know it is rapidly losing color<\/a>. Not only have we been in a downward spiral since the \u201880s, but no one seems to care about bringing back what we have lost. For over a decade, audiences and critics have made their feelings about poorly-lit movies and series well-known. And yet, filmmakers continue to make it impossible to see and truly enjoy their hard-earned work. One pervasive theory is that the dimmer lighting allows filmmakers to better conceal the seams in the final product \u2014 particularly in cases where overworked, underpaid visual effects teams<\/a> are being tasked with creating entire set pieces, costumes, and worlds within the confines of entirely green-screened sets.<\/p>\n

I was relieved to learn that this wasn\u2019t the case for Masters of the Universe. That\u2019s not to diminish the film\u2019s stunning visual effects, crafted by the talented teams at companies like Industrial Light & Magic<\/a>, Rodeo FX<\/a>, and DNEG under the guidance of visual effects supervisors Tim Burke and David Vickery. But those effects are built upon highly detailed practical sets, designed by the film\u2019s two-time Academy Award-nominated production designer, Guy Hendrix Dyas. Together, the production design and visual effects teams worked in tandem to create a world that feels fully realized \u2014 and the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

How \u2018Masters of the Universe\u2019 Remained Faithful to the Animated Series\u2019 Color Scheme<\/p>\n

Last spring, Dyas joined the bevy of journalists on the set of Masters of the Universe to discuss how they brought Eternia to life for the film. Before we even set foot on the actual sets, the sketches on the walls around us showcased a colorful, immersive world that was reminiscent of the animated series that many of the film\u2019s creatives grew up with. Dyas readily admitted that he \u201cfanatically\u201d watched He-Man as a child growing up in Devon, England, and that childhood obsession had a clear throughline into the level of detail in each of his designs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I’ve tried to do in every case is make sure that all the vehicles adhere to the original color schemes of the toys in the animation. Which has been really, honestly quite amazing for me as a designer who normally would always do spaceships in the classic sort of steel or gray.\u201d Dyas explained while showing us his red-accented concept art for the Rotons \u2014 the intimidating saw-like vehicles used by Skeletor\u2019s lackeys. \u201cWe all know spaceships are always gray, right? Not in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the sketches on the walls were the highly-detailed designs Dyas drafted for Eternia\u2019s capital city, Eternos, which revealed a city that looked almost real. The designs factored in day-to-day life, with functional egress and ingress, and a clear understanding of how a civilization develops and evolves throughout its rise and eventual fall.<\/p>\n

Dyas credited some of the city\u2019s inspiration to famed concept artist Ralph McQuarrie<\/a>, who provided uncredited concept art for Gary Goddard\u2019s 1987 live-action adaptation<\/a>. \u201cI kept in mind [his] gestures of the domes, but I changed them into glass. I felt that if they were stone, it would start to look too much like a Star Wars world.\u201d While McQuarrie\u2019s designs were inspirational, they also lacked something that is integral to the ethos of He-Man. \u201cI obviously ramped up the color because colors are a very, very big deal for Masters of the Universe. It’s not a world that shies away from vivid color, and that’s a very healthy thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

McQuarrie is, of course, best-known for his Star Wars concept art, but the connection between He-Man and Star Wars goes deeper than that. In 1976, Mattel passed on George Lucas’ offer to produce a toy line for his emerging franchise, which led to Kenner’s iconic action figures \u2014 and also the inception of He-Man. Mattel’s lead designer, Roger Sweet, created the character as a sort of Conan the Barbarian<\/a> meets Star Wars, and the end result was a character that remains undeniably recognizable forty years later. What set He-Man apart from the rest of its peers was the franchise\u2019s bright color scheme, as Dyas said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at most science fiction films, they do tend to lean into a singular palette. If you go and see Patrice [Vermette]\u2019s work in Dune, it’s beautiful, but it’s all going to be kind of yellow and brown. If you go and look at Star Wars, it’s going to go more into the gray palette, that whole sort of Doug Chiang thing. So, what is the palette for this world? Well, one thing’s for sure, it’s not short on color. Our forests are absolutely vivid and beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later we went to see part of the forest that Dyas and his team were building, where the only color restriction was \u201cno green.\u201d A choice that may seem surprising for a forest, but once you see the film you will understand why the restriction was put into place. \u201cI removed the color green because it just does something very weird to your brain. You’re looking at it, and you’re going, \u2018I believe everything here, and yet there’s something amiss.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

How \u2018Masters of the Universe\u2019 Takes Its Costumes and Props to the Next Level<\/p>\n

\"masters-of-the-universe-3\"
\n Image via Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve never done a job that is so intertwined with prosthetics before,\u201d Masters of the Universe\u2019s costume designer Richard Sale admitted. Sale has an expansive career designing costumes for Marvel and DC films, including Guardians of the Galaxy<\/a>, Wonder Woman: 1984<\/a>, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom<\/a>, but none of those movies have utilized prosthetics quite like this one. \u201cOne of the really cool things about this job has been the hopefully seamless work with Barrie [Gower]. It\u2019s a joy to emphasize each other’s work.\u201d<\/p>\n

We were shown models and finalized prosthetics for characters like Goat Man, Spikor, and Pig-Head that featured a level of detail and care that made them look more like war trophies than examples of made-for-screen prosthetics. Of course, the most impressive example of the seamless partnership between costumes and prosthetics is Masters of the Universe\u2019s iconic villain Skeletor (Jared Leto).<\/p>\n

As Sale told us, \u201cbecause he’s predominantly a prosthetic, our work couldn’t start until we had a signed-off prosthetic, and we didn’t have that until two weeks before filming. They needed a long time to make the suit to Jared’s size. So at that point, we did all the artwork with all of the detail, and we did the belt design and all the [smaller] bits. All of that can go along, but it’s not until you finally get him in the room, in [the prosthetics], that we can really start work on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained how they went through several months of testing different cloaks and shades of purple, before they settled on the final version that looked best in-camera. Skeletor is a make-or-break character for a film like Masters of the Universe, and the end result is perhaps the film\u2019s most impressive feat. The secret, Sale revealed, was not to one-to-one replicate the costumes from the animated series and toy line, but rather build onto the concepts they established.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the choices I made early on when we designed Skeletor was to not have the cross strap, which is from the costume with the bones, because it became too similar in a way that just became a negative of each other. Again, we were trying to move away slightly from the bone idea \u2014 just for Skeletor. He lives in Snake Mountain, so he should be more snake-like. But then we used a lot of snake skeletons in the design, so we kept the bone thing alive, but just having it a little bit more referential to his detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s prop master, Steven Morris, made a point to highlight how much time it takes to craft props for a film as large-scale as Masters of the Universe, particularly when the scenes are filled with background performers that all need to be armed with weaponry with the same level of detail as the main cast\u2019s weapons. \u201cI’ve never been involved in a project of this size and scope, and the sheer volume of what has to be built from scratch, which is pretty much everything. You can touch all these things. You’ll see certain things have different weights. That’s purposely for the actors and for what we need out of the scene.\u201d And these prop pieces weren\u2019t outsourced \u2014 Masters of the Universe kept everything in-house, and that only strengthened the synergy between departments.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep in mind, our movie takes place 20% on Earth, 80% on Eternia. You cannot walk into a Target or a Best Buy or any store and say, ‘Hey, can you show me the Eternian section? We\u2019ve got to buy a bunch of shit for our movie.’ Every single solitary prop, costume, belt buckle, and gun is bespoke to this movie. Everything. We were not able to and would not take it from somewhere else. We built it from scratch. We have a 40,000 square foot factory across the street that is literally manufacturing these things in-house, so we can design something on set and basically have it by the end of the day in some sort of form, all under one roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a production filled with He-Man fans, it wasn\u2019t surprising to learn that departments like Morris\u2019 were focused on fan expectations. \u201cWe always knew that this is a movie that’s going to get judged \u2014 even though it’s huge \u2014 by the very [small] details that make up the film. So, we’ve been concerned about details from day one. Our art department has created a language, an Eternia language with a grid, with letters, and we have plastered throughout the sets and on Teela\u2019s ship, different phrases that, if you take the time, and you want to nerd out, and you want to follow the grid [you can].\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris continued, \u201cThe super nerds out there \u2014 who are looking for everything that we’re doing online \u2014 all of that stuff, it’s important to them. The first comments we started getting back [when the first look was released] were about this: the patina, the weathering. Because it feels like it’s being used. It doesn’t feel like Star Wars, where everything was so clean and didn’t have that tactile response. They’re zeroing in on the details.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jared
\n Jared Leto as Skeletor in Masters of the UniverseImage via Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n

No one sets out to make a bad film, but if you spend enough time on sets, you can often sense that people know that what they\u2019re making isn\u2019t going to be great. But on Masters of the Universe it was the complete opposite. Everyone knew what they were making was going to be a visual treat for He-Man fans \u2014 and even newcomers to the franchise. From department heads to the background performers on their smoke breaks between takes, there was a palpable belief that Masters of the Universe was going to defy the odds of most big-budget fantasy movies. And Morris credited that hopeful attitude to one person on set.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the tip of the spear down, I’ll tell you the reason this movie’s going to work, and I believe it, is because Travis [Knight], our director, not only wanted to make this movie, he needed to make this movie. These were more than toys; they were characters that became his friends. He literally came up in this universe, never knowing that now he was in charge of it and in control of it. And thank God he is, because there is not a better steward to be running that brand and all of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travis Knight\u2019s Stop-Motion Background Is \u2018Masters of the Universe\u2019s Secret to Success<\/p>\n

Nearly a year to the date of the set visit, I find myself sitting across from Travis Knight at the junket for Masters of the Universe, a day after the world premiere in LA. After seeing the film fully embrace the vibrant colors we witnessed on set, I ask how he managed to achieve something many of his peers seem to struggle with: creating a film that is not only richly colorful, but also impeccably lit. His answer is far from surprising.<\/p>\n

Travis Knight isn\u2019t just a He-Man super-fan, he is the CEO of LAIKA<\/a> \u2014 the world-famous stop-motion animation studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and the upcoming Wildwood<\/a>, two of which Knight also directed. Stop-motion animation, like any form of animation, is incredibly intentional about even the most minute detail, especially where color and lighting is concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts when you have source material like the Filmation cartoon, which was this riot of color,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt was polychromatic splendor. It was insane, their use of color in that cartoon. That was essentially my North Star. I kept going back to the art department, and naturally, you go in that direction, and people think, \u2018No, this is crazy. This looks insane. We’ve got to throttle back from that.\u2019 And look, you do have to make things look believable, but it is an alien planet, and I wanted it to be a really rich, vibrant experience. So, as you work on a process, things tend towards gray, and you\u2019ve got to always push it back. I’m really, really pleased with where we arrived because the movie is kind of a rich, colorful, kaleidoscopic riot, and it’s just so much fun.\u201d He explained:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps that I come from a background in animation, which is an accommodation of practical stuff and digital stuff, and so it’s the blend of those things. It’s a little bit different in live action, but it’s fundamentally the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knight echoed the same sentiments we heard Dyas and Sale make a year prior. Every department worked together to create cohesive designs that worked in concert with each other. \u201cThe thing that I hadn’t really done to this extent was work in prosthetics, and I didn’t have appreciation for how time-consuming and how difficult it was,\u201d Knight explained. \u201cBut I lucked out. My prosthetics lead is a guy named Barrie Gower, who is absolutely extraordinary, and he’s a huge He-Man fan, which helped too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knight went on to praise Gower and his team for the passion they brought to the production and the ways they found creative solutions to expand the world of the film. \u201cHe and his team, they put so much of themselves into this movie. They went above and beyond. They created things that are like, \u2018Well, we can’t afford to put Merman in the movie,\u2019 so they created a little Merman mask and put a guy in the background, so we got Merman in the back somewhere. I mean, they put so much of themselves into the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also highlighted how that meeting of minds led to a film that feels set apart from the last decade of sci-fi and fantasy projects. \u201cI think that the physical, the practical stuff, the special effects, the combination of visual effects, when those things blend together in a harmonious way, and it doesn’t happen easily, it creates a magical spell. I’m delighted with the work that went into the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

What became clear over the course of both the set visit and my conversation with Knight nearly a year later is that Masters of the Universe was never approached as just another toy adaptation or effects-heavy franchise film. It was built by artists and craftspeople who understood exactly why this world resonated with audiences in the first place \u2014 not just because of He-Man or Skeletor.<\/p>\n

In an era where so many blockbusters feel visually interchangeable, Masters of the Universe dares to look distinct. It embraces color, texture, practical artistry, and sincerity without apology. Whether the film ultimately succeeds with audiences remains to be seen, but one thing is undeniable: every frame reflects a creative team that genuinely believed in what they were making, and that passion is impossible to fake.<\/p>\n

Masters of the Universe is in theaters on June 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"master-of-the-universe-poster.jpg\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tMasters of the Universe
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 5, 2026<\/p>\n

Director<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTravis Knight<\/p>\n

Writers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Butler<\/p>\n

Producers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJason Blumenthal, Robbie Brenner, Steve Tisch, Todd Black<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On May 21, 2025, at around 11 AM BST, I discovered that it actually is possible to make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,206],"class_list":["post-664370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}