Masters Of The Universe star Nicholas Galitzine has said he wanted his modern take on superhero He-Man to feel “accessible” and have a “sensitivity” to him that the macho character did not have in the original series.
The British actor, 31, stars in the upcoming reboot as Prince Adam who, after being sent to live on Earth as a baby uncovers his destiny as superhero and alter ego, He-Man, the protector of his home planet Eternia.
Centring around the origin story of He-Man, it follows the superhero as he prepares for battle to defend his planet from the forces of evil, which include villain Skeletor, played by Suicide Squad’s Jared Leto.
The upcoming film is a reboot of the 1987 original which starred Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren and was based on the franchise from entertainment company Mattel, which created a number of animated series and comics.
Speaking on the red carpet at the UK premiere in central London, Galitzine praised director Travis Knight for adapting more than 130 episodes from the original series into the upcoming film.
He told the Press Association: “He assembled a team of people who were really very focused on creating fan service for the existing fans, but also making a movie that felt modern, that felt current.
“When it came to He-Man, we wanted to make a guy who obviously was still musclebound but had a sensitivity to him, had an accessibility to him that maybe we didn’t quite feel in the past.”
He added that landing the blockbuster role was an “incredible honour” and that he was determined to “create a character who felt accessible, who felt current, who we could relate to in a lot of ways”.
“I really feel like we’ve done that with this movie. So I’m just incredibly proud, and I hope people love watching it as much as I loved making it,” he said.
The film also stars Luther actor Idris Elba as He-Man’s ally, Duncan or Man-At-Arms, along with Riverdale actress Camila Mendes as Adam’s protector, Teela.
Speaking about how Mendes honoured Teela’s original legacy appearance, she told PA: “I love her origin story, I feel like that was very inspiring.
“I think something that I feel like we really stay true to is that Teela is very stubborn and hot-headed and she’s a leader in the filmation cartoon and I feel like that definitely translates in the film as well.
“Also, this idea that she sees the goofiness of Prince Adam and really admires that and also wants a man like He-Man who is strong and courageous.
“Something she says throughout the series is ‘Oh I wish there was a guy who was both of those things’ because she doesn’t know that he is both of those things.
“I feel like those sensibilities I really absorbed.”
Also in attendance at the UK premiere was Queen guitarist Sir Brian May who worked on the soundtrack for the film.
Other cast members include Together actress Alison Brie, who portrays supervillain Evil-Lyn, Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig who voices Roboto, and Deadpool’s Morena Baccarin.
Rome actor James Purefoy also stars in the film as King Randor, the ruler of Eternia and He-Man’s father.
Speaking about the adaptation and some of the themes the new film addresses, he said: “Perhaps now we’re having a lot of chat about toxic masculinity, of what it means to be male, but I think there are a lot of different opinions about what that is.
“King Randor is very much of the old gen and comes to regret that as the movie progresses that perhaps there are different ways and different approaches about being a man, which aren’t to do with just bare-knuckle fighting.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but that issue is addressed.”
Originally an action figure toy line, the Mattel Masters Of The Universe franchise branched out into comic books, animated TV series, video games, books, magazines and films.
The film is a reboot of the 1987 film of the same name, which starred Lundgren, Broadway actor Frank Langella and Friends star Courteney Cox.
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