This may come as a surprise to some, but Marvel and DC are not making 2026's most exciting movie. For decades at this point, Marvel and DC have dominated the superhero movie space, bringing awe-inspiring spectacles like Avengers: Doomsday, The Dark Knight, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to the big screen, and next will be no different.
The two comic book giants have a stellar 2026 slate, including a new Avengers film and the DCU's second-ever big-screen blockbuster. However, these pale in comparison to the upcoming Masters of the Universe film from Amazon MGM Studios, and Sony Pictures in terms of potential excitement.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, the beloved super-powered world of He-Man will take to the big screen, providing fans with what is sure to be a superhero epic that will dazzle the senses. In a few ways, the potential for Masters of the Universe to be something special dwarfs even the gob-smacking 2026 offerings of Marvel and DC.
Masters of the Universe comes to theaters on June 5, 2026. The film follows a young man, Prince Adam/He-Man, as he returns to his home planet of Eternia to take on the forces of the evil Skeletor. Directed by Travis Knight, the upcoming superhero epic stars an A-list cast including Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, and Alison Brie.
Four Reasons Why Masters of the Universe Should Be On Your Radar
A Stacked Cast
While it might be hard to beat the pound-for-pound talent of an Avengers movie, Masters of the Universe is going to do its best. The 2026 blockbuster is putting its best foot forward with one of the best superhero casts in years from a pure star power perspective.
Led by former teen star Nicholas Galitzine as its central hero, He-Man, the film has surrounded Galitzine with an absolutely stellar cast, bringing some of the most iconic characters in pop culture history to life in glorious live action.
Names like Idris Elba, Alison Brie, Camila Mendes, and Jared Leto make up just a part of this superhero ensemble, playing iconic characters from the He-Man franchise like Man-At-Arms, Evil-Lyn, Teela, and (of course) the villainous Skeletor.
And it does not stop there; other fan-favorite stars of the big and small screen are confirmed to appear as well, including Deadpool's Morena Baccarin and a pair of SNL alums in Sasheer Zamata and Kristen Wiig.
Sure, Avengers: Doomsday may have this film beat in terms of cumulative accolades amongst its cast, but Masters of the Universe, from top to bottom, has assembled a team of some of the most celebrated names of their generation to bring this colorful world to life (read more about the Masters of the Universe cast here).
A Proven Franchise Director
A killer cast and an epic world to adapt are nothing if they are not put in the right hands. Thankfully, in the case of Masters of the Universe, the movie is being helmed by a proven franchise filmmaker with a pedigree for delivering the incredible.
Travis Knight is directing the new movie. Knight is best known for his work on the Transformers franchise, as well as for helping mold the beloved Laika animation studio into becoming one of the most celebrated names in modern movie-making.
Knight's previous franchise work speaks for itself. Knight's Transformers prequel, Bumblebee, stands as the highest-rated movie in the epic sci-fi series, even beating out the acclaimed Transformers One with a stellar 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Arguably directing the Transformers film with the most emotionally resonant story and characters, Knight has proven that he can ground larger-than-life concepts with compelling human drama.
His only other directorial effort to this point was 2016's lauded Kubo and the Two Strings, a beautiful stop-motion fantasy adventure set in the world of Japanese mythology. In the near-decade since Kubo's release, it has been praised as one of the best animated movies of the 2010s, being nominated for two Academy Awards at the time and climbing to a glowing 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
He is also set to direct Laika's next stop-motion feature, Wildwood, which, in early teases, is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious animated films ever. And this is the guy they have behind the wheel for Masters of the Universe. If that resume doesn't impress you, I don't know what will!
The Potential of a New Start
Sure, the Masters of the Universe cast is great, and so is Travis Knight directing the film, but even more exciting than that is the infinite potential a project like this has within it.
One of the biggest reasons fans were excited about James Gunn's Superman over the last year was the idea of a new beginning. It was a place to hit the reset button for DC and start fresh, opening the door once again to near limitless possibilities.
Well... fans will get that again in 2026 with the release of Masters of the Universe. This will be a wholly new superhero franchise and world for modern-day moviegoers to ogle, not bogged down by the baggage of past iterations or forced to fill a narrative hole thanks to some unsuccessful previous project.
It is not often that fans get to witness the birth of a new cinematic universe, and Masters of the Universe could very well be that in 2026. The He-Man lore is deep and wide-spanning. So, if this movie does well, a rabbit hole full of stories for potential adaptation awaits, if audiences should demand them.
Giving Fans What They Have Been Waiting For
The last, and (depending on who you ask) possibly most exciting reason that Masters of the Universe could top Marvel and DC in 2026 is the fact that it is seemingly set to give a long-standing fandom what they have been waiting years for.
After debuting in cartoon form in 1983, the Masters of the Universe franchise spawned a massive fan base that has spanned the globe. And while some of its contemporaries, like Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, have received their due on the big screen, He-Man and his fellow warriors of Eternia have not.
In 1987, Garry Goddard brought a live-action Masters of the Universe movie to the silver screen; however, it was widely considered a failure, ranking as one of the worst-reviewed superhero movies of all time.
In the years since, MOTU fans have gotten teases of what could be the next great adaptation of the iconic IP, including a stellar animated series on Netflix in 2024, but never the blockbuster adventure they deserve.
This movie could be that for the Masters of the Universe fanbase, finally giving the MOTU faithful something to hang their hats on after decades of being ignored by Hollywood.
