Masters Of The Universe Lets The Other Big Screen He-man Pass The Torch

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Mild spoilers for "Masters of the Universe" to follow.

At the beginning of director Travis Knight's fantasy adventure film "Masters of the Universe," the young Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) witnesses his home kingdom of Eternia being besieged by the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his monstrous minions. To protect him, Adam's parents hand him a magical sword, the Sword of Power, and send him through a portal to the planet Earth. Unfortunately, Adam is separated from his sword during the journey and lands on Earth, alone and destitute. 

Adam grows up on Earth, eventually being played by Nicholas Galitzine. He remembers vague things about his childhood on Eternia and only knows that he needs to locate his missing sword in order to return home. He takes a boring corporate job and dreams of warriors and monsters. Adam also has his Eternian father's echoes in his brain about the importance of strength and being a soldier, leading him to make occasional trips to the gym. Adam is a timid soul, though, and he doesn't know if he'll ever be powerful enough to quell the voices from his childhood. He's a long way from becoming He-Man. 

At the gym, Adam is admonished by a tall, strong, blonde older bodybuilder played by action movie icon Dolph Lundgren. Naturally, longtime "Masters of the Universe" fans will recognize Lundgren as the star of the live-action 1987 "Masters" film adaptation, where he plays He-Man. Adam and the Lundgren character have a brief exchange wherein Lungdren gives him some valuable advice about standing up for yourself. He leaves and says, "Good journey," a line from the 1987 "Masters" movie.

It's a brief but cute moment that allows one live-action He-Man actor to pass the torch to another.

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Dolph Lundgren was still relatively new to professional acting when he appeared in "Masters of the Universe" in 1987. He made his screen debut as a random henchman in the 1985 James Bond movie "A View to a Kill," which co-starred his then-girlfriend Grace Jones. Later that same year, Ludgren broke through thanks to his turn as the taciturn Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in 1985's "Rocky IV." From there, it only took another two years for the actor to land the part of He-Man in "Masters of the Universe."

However, few people loved the 1987 "Masters of the Universe" movie upon its release in theaters. The kids who loved the Mattel-based "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" cartoon series bristled at the changes that the film made to its source material, while just about everyone else bristled at the movie's bad script, strange ideas, and cheap production design. To this day, the 1987 "Masters of the Universe" is pretty infamous for its low quality.

Of course, like all things of sufficient age, a certain degree of nostalgia eventually grew around the movie, so much so that "Masters of the Universe" fans became kind of fond of it, if only because of its kitschy entertainment value. It also helps that mainstream audiences are generally fond of Lundgren nowadays thanks to his lengthy film career and presence as an action movie legend.

As such, when Lundgren appears in "Masters of the Universe" (2026), old-school fans will be more likely to cheer than roll their eyes. Watching him wish his successor as He-Man "Good journey," it feels like Lundgren is giving his blessing. There can be a new He-Man. The old He-Man approves.

"Masters of the Universe" is now playing in theaters.