LOVE AND THUNDER star Idris Elba in talks to play warrior in MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE

Idris Elba may be making the jump from the MCU to Eternia, leaving Heimdall behind to play another highly trained warrior in the service of a sprawling mythical kingdom.

The packaging reports that Elba (Thor: Love and Thunder, Avengers: Infinity War) is in talks to play Prince Adam’s loyal master-at-arms, Duncan, aka Man-At-Arms in MGM and Mattel’s live-action Masters of the Universe film.

If he signs, Elba will join Nicholas Galitzine (Purple hearts, red, white and royal blue, the idea of ​​you) as Prince Adam/He-Man, Riverdale alum Camila Mendes as his right hand and (possible) love interest, Teela and Alison Brie (GLOW, Community) as Skeletor’s second-in-command, Evil-Lyn.

As for Skeletor himself, Jared Leto is said to be on the studio’s radar to play He-Man’s nemesis, but this has yet to be confirmed. Previous rumors have claimed that Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Les Miserables) was in contention to play the iconic baddie.

After several false starts, Netflix was set to develop a feature version of the beloved animated series back in 2022, but we were recently told that the latest attempt to get the project off the ground had also fallen by the wayside.

However, we would later learn that Amazon/MGM Studios had acquired the film, with Bumblebee director Travis Knight in talks with the helm. The film is now set to hit theaters on June 5, 2026.

Chris Butler rewrote the script from a first draft by David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). Previously, Nee Brothers (The lost city) was linked to directly.

An updated synopsis was recently revealed, it sounds like this adaptation will make at least one major change to the established lore.

The story follows “10-year-old Prince Adam, who crashed to Earth in a spaceship and was separated from his magical Power Sword – the only link to his home on Eternia. After tracking it down nearly two decades later, Prince Adam is led back through space to defend his home planet against Skeletor’s evil forces, but to defeat such a powerful villain, Prince Adam must first uncover the mysteries of his past and become He-Man: the most powerful man in the universe!

There have been several different takes on Prince Adam’s origins in the various animated shows and comics, but this is the first time the character will grow up on Earth before returning to Eternia as an adult – although he 80’s live-action film with Dolph Lundgren was primarily set on the ground.

Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch will produce alongside DeVon Franklin.

Netflix reportedly spent nearly $30 million in development costs over two years working on the project before deciding to walk away when the budget, originally set at more than $200 million, could not be meaningfully reduced.