By the power of Hollywood, nostalgia has the power! Masters of the Universe is the latest Saturday-morning classic reborn into a live-action film for an audience yearning to enjoy the magic of being a kid again.

Following the failure of the live-action 1987 film starring Dolph Lundgren, and unmaterialized plans with drastically different versions of He-Man, Amazon MGM’s upcoming feature is the last one standing. Before you see the movie in theaters on June 5, here is a crash course on Masters of the Universe.

Masters of the Universe Origins

The Masters of the Universe brand started off as one of Mattel’s tentpole toylines at the dawn of the 80’s. Originally designed by Roger Sweet and Mark Taylor, and written by Mark Ellis and Donald F. Glut, Masters of the Universe quickly expanded into comics, specials, and various animated series, beginning with Lou Scheimer’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, most notable for spreading the “He-Mania.”

Masters of the Universe was one of the first franchises to blend sword-and-sorcery fantasy with space opera and superhero fiction. The story revolves around the eternal war between good and evil on the fantastical planet Eternia, where science and magic go hand in hand. Standing front and centre of this world is Prince Adam, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, wielding the Sword of Power to transform into He-Man in times of crisis against Skeletor and the forces of evil.

In most iterations, Eternians including royal family members, are not aware of Prince Adam and He-Man being one and the same. The power and responsibility was bestowed onto him by the Sorceress of Grayskull. As Adam, he’s a fun-loving prince without a care in the world. When he lifts his sword to sky and utters the words, “By the Power of Grayskull, I have the power,” you better believe that’s He-Man talking.

The Lore of the Universe

The new Masters of the Universe movie, directed by Bumblebee’s Travis Knight, is a modern reimagining of the iconic Mattel IP, following Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) as he returns to Eternia to save his people from Skeletor’s tyranny after living on Earth for 15 years. Of course, he must reunite with his fellow heroic warriors and claim the Sword of Power to become the mighty He-Man in his pursuit of justice.

In the source material, Earth was rarely a factor, but still a significant piece of He-Man’s history. His mother, Queen Marlena, is human. The 1980’s animated series revealed her past as an astronaut on Earth, before a botched space mission left her stranded on the planet Eternia, where she fell in love with King Randor, and gave birth to twins: Prince Adam and Princess Adora, who would grow to become the unstoppable He-Man and She-Ra. The upcoming film sees Queen Marlena send Adam to Earth for sanctuary away from Skeletor’s evil forces.

Fans have been vocally apprehensive about Masters of the Universe spending much time on Earth, mostly due to the potential dilution of the fantastic, otherworldly setting and the oversaturation of the fish-out-of-water trope. Not to mention that the first live-action film adaptation also had a plot featuring Earth in a prominent capacity.

As preferable as it would be to see the story set entirely on Eternia, there may be interesting narrative-driven opportunities to compare and contrast both worlds as we embark on this journey with our hero and see how he can adapt to unfamiliar territory from two different points of view.

Meet the Masters of the Universe

While Superman leads the Justice League and Cyclops leads the X-Men, He-Man leads the Masters of the Universe. In true Arthurian fashion, they are his courageous knights who rush into battle alongside him without a second of hesitation. Also known as the Heroic Warriors, He-Man’s (Nicholas Galitzine) squad comprises Man-at-Arms (Idris Elba), Teela (Camila Mendes), Roboto (Kristen Wiig), Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), Cringer/Battle Cat, and the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin). Additional heroes appearing in the film include Ram-Man (Jon Xue Zhang), and Mekaneck (James Wilkinson).

Two heroes noticeably absent are Princess Adora/She-Ra and Orko. She-Ra, being He-Man’s twin sister and equal is likely reserved for a sequel or spin-off. The Princess of Power already has a live-action series in the works at Prime Video. As for Orko, the reasons for his absence so far are a mystery, considering that Knight is unapologetically embracing the franchise’s whimsical roots.

What is Skeletor’s Problem?

Originally a demonic being from an alternate reality, then a former apprentice of the malicious Hordak, Skeletor is the Yang to He-Man’s Ying. Later retcons reveal him to be King Randor’s half-brother, Keldor, in a past life.

As the eldest son of King Miro, he expected to be the next in line for the throne until his brother Randor ended up crowned King of Eternia instead of him. Keldor, always being jealous of his baby brother, descended deeper into darkness, eventually crossing paths with Hordak, who seduced him with the power of an unholy force. Believe it or not, he was once a handsome pale blue-skinned alien until an accident burnt his flesh off, making him hideous inside and out.

Skeletor’s Crew

Skeletor is joined by Evil-Lyn (Allison Brie), Trap Jaw (Sam C. Wilson), Spikor (James Apps), Tri-klops, Goat Man, and Beast Man in the villainous cabal known as the Horde. These monsters serve Hordak, the one being seemingly more evil than Skeletor himself, and stop at nothing in their pursuit of total conquest and annihilation. As far as we know, Hordak is not physically present in the new movie, but don’t be surprised if his looming darkness is teased for a potential sequel.

While the extent of Skeletor’s royal lineage in Travis Knight’s take is currently unknown, the creepy demon succeeded in seizing the throne, driving the movie’s plot. Seeing He-Man break Skeletor’s bones should be satisfying.

A Curse Finally Lifted

Travis Knight’s Masters of the Universe marks He-Man’s first return to the big screen after 39 years. The critical and commercial failure of the 1987 movie cemented it as the only live-action MOTU film adaptation until now. Many studios have tried to adapt the IP into a blockbuster film franchise and failed before they had any chance to begin.

John Woo tried to direct and produce one at Fox in the early 2000’s. That project died on account of Mattel regaining film rights to their characters to shop around after Fox apparently lost interest. Then Warner Bros. tried their hand with Joel Silver producing, Kung Fu Panda’s John Stevenson directing, and multiple writers penning the script. To further complicate matters, Sony got the film rights, resulting in another cancellation after creative disagreements.

Sony then tapped Wicked‘s Jon M Chu to direct their reboot with Mike Finch and Alex Litvak writing the script. Chu dropped out to prioritise his work on the G.I. Joe movies for Mattel’s number one competitor – Hasbro. Sony persisted with new creative teams on new attempts, and they all met the same fate.

Netflix stepped in with the Nee brothers writing their version of the reboot, until financial constraints forced them to step out. Finally, Amazon MGM Studios ended the game of corporate Hot Potato, retaining the Nee brothers as the writers with Travis Knight directing. The fate of the Masters of the Universe now rests on their shoulders.