After years of speculating that Idris Elba could play the next James Bond, it appears the 52-year-old actor is about to sign up for a very different type of action hero. For the first time since 1987, the mustachioed character of Man-at-Arms, colleague of Prince Adam, and father of Teela, is becoming flesh-and-blood once again. Played by Jon Cypher in the first film version of Masters of the Universe, the man with the orange mace could be realized, fully and completely by Elba in the new He-Man film coming in 2026.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elba is in “final negotiations to play Duncan, aka Man-at-Arms,” in the new film Masters of the Universe, set to release on June 5, 2026. For those who had action figures in the 1980s, this is excellent casting. While voiced brilliantly by Alan Oppenheimer in the original 1983 cartoon, and played with workman-like efficiency by Cypher in the 1987 film, the dreams of Man-at-Arms coolness have never been fully realized, at least not relative to the imaginations of kids who played with the classic toys. But a certified badass like Elba could change all of that.
