Movie review
June 3, 2026 · 141 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Not currently streaming in United States
Review
Masters of the Universe is a live-action fantasy action film in which Prince Adam, sent to Earth as a child, grows up ordinary before reclaiming the Sword of Power and returning to Eternia to become He-Man and battle Skeletor’s tyrannical rule. The story follows a classic hero’s journey of destiny, family, and inner strength mixed with humor and spectacle. Audience-visible modern elements include a brief “he/him” nameplate joke on Adam’s Earth desk and race-swapped casting in prominent supporting roles like Teela and Man-At-Arms.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Masters of the Universe.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent roles feature race-swapped casting (Latina Teela as strong warrior ally that multiple times saves He-Man; Black Man-At-Arms as competent mentor/leader) against traditional source depictions.
Woke political dialogue
Explicit modern pronoun language appears in the Earth scenes via the desk nameplate gag, even as a pun; this triggered clear audience-visible complaints about inserting and normalising identity culture into the story.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative stays a traditional hero’s journey of destiny, responsibility, and good triumphing over evil tyranny. Light modern touches via the corporate Earth life and pronoun joke exist but do not drive plot, character arcs, or messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Director applied “toxic masculinity” framing to the villain Skeletor in interviews, using contemporary activist language. Otherwise, the film celebrates heroic strength and power without deconstructing family, masculinity, or Western institutions; corporate Earth life gets only mild satirical treatment.
Woke character or canon changes
Race and ethnic changes made to established characters Teela and Man-At-Arms from the source material (toys and cartoons). These prominent supporting roles received identity-driven casting updates without in-story justification tied to Eternia’s fantasy logic.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Clear and widely reported conservative/fan backlash targeted the pronouns nameplate as woke insertion, with additional complaints about casting diversity and changes; this formed the main public debate around the film’s perceived messaging.
Creator track record context
Most key creatives (director Travis Knight, several writers) show low activist patterns. Writer Chris Butler has past LGBTQ inclusion work; producer Robbie Brenner oversaw strongly feminist/identity-themed projects like Barbie; Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz leads a company with ESG and corporate diversity recognitions. Overall leans industry-typical progressive without dominating the title’s creative core.
Production
