After almost two decades of attempts and promising concepts, Masters of the Universe will finally make its return to the big screen later this year. It’s been a long time coming, and there have been a variety of talented creatives trying to bring their version of the franchise to life over the years. That includes a cancelled Masters of the Universe film from 10 years ago, and now we finally have our first look at what that film would have looked like.
Concept Artist and Creature Designer Constantine Sekeris was brought onto the previous Masters of the Universe film, which was gearing up in 2015, and Sekeris recently discovered some of his preliminary concepts that he created based on the script and tone the project was going for. The artwork we get showcases looks for He-Man, Teela, and Man-At-Arms. The costumes have a sleekness to them and a more muted color palette, but certainly embrace the overall designs from the cartoon, and you can check them out below.
Sekeris shared the images on Instagram and also provided some context. Sekeris wrote, “Hello,Family and friends ……wishing everyone a happy new year………..posting today some very old concepts on Masters of the universe way back from 2015……back then I was hired for 6-8 weeks to do some very preliminary concepts based on the script and tone they were going for …I was going through old hard drives and found these as I thought I lost them and pulled them out of my psd files ……the script was absolutely badass and the director super awesome …this is /was a passion project to b apart of…I grew up on Heman and all these wonderful characters to bring to life….i was apart of this brand for a good 14-15 yrs off and on and explored sooooooo many different designs and tones of all these characters ……..I was not apart of the one coming out this next year and hope it’s a cool fun film I get to go back to my childhood ……I have more from this version and tone I will post soon enough……humbly thanks…”
What Was The 2015 Masters of the Universe Movie, And Why Didn’t It Happen?
Sekeris says these designs were from 2015, and though he doesn’t go into detail on much in the way of the film itself, Sekeris does write, “the script was absolutely badass and the director super awesome.” Sekeris also mentions this is not connected to the new film hitting this year, so we can cross that off the list.
Between 2014 and 2018, there were several iterations in the works that ultimately didn’t happen, but in 2015 specifically, there was a report that Christopher Yost had been brought in to rewrite the 2014 version of the film that had Jeff Wadlow directing. There’s a chance Sekeris is talking about Wadlow, though he also might be talking about McG, who was at the helm of the in-development project in 2016.
None of those versions ended up happening, and for a variety of reasons. Wadlow has spoken that his time with the project, and the reason it never moved forward was that Wadlow had a more lighthearted and irreverent take on the franchise that Sony wasn’t interested in at the time. Yost was brought in to rewrite a script for a MOTU project in 2015, and then in 2016, the McG news hit.
At the time, McG was reportedly locked in on making the project a reality, but he also talked about Sony running a tight ship and needing to earn the goodwill of the studio (via IGN). These designs certainly hint at something more serious than the lighthearted take Wadlow brought to the studio, and this sort of concept work would fit the timeline if they were ramping up to a movie that would eventually get a release date. Unfortunately, we never got to see that vision hit the screen, as Sony would ultimately lose the rights to the franchise, which were picked up by Netflix in 2022. Now, a Masters of the Universe movie is finally becoming a reality, and we can’t wait to finally see it hit the big screen after its wild journey.
Masters of the Universe is set to hit theaters on June 5th, 2026.
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