A new look at Masters of the Universe surfaced online Tuesday, with the official 4DX social media account releasing an exclusive poster that shows He-Man riding atop his armored Battle Cat. The image puts Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man front and center as the film builds toward its theatrical debut on Jun. 3.
The poster matters because Battle Cat has never made it into live-action on the big screen before, even though Cringer is one of the most familiar figures in the franchise. In the story’s mythology, Cringer is the fearful but loyal companion of Prince Adam who becomes the brave armored Battle Cat through the power of He-Man.
That makes the new image a small but telling marker for a project trying to do what the 1987 film could not. Dolph Lundgren starred as He-Man in Gary Goddard’s version, a critical and financial bomb that never had the room to fully realize the franchise’s stranger corners. Battle Cat and Cringer were left out then because the movie’s scope was too limited and the budget too tight.
Now the green cat is heading to live-action for the first time, and director Travis Knight has said his version is meant to translate the property for modern audiences while still embracing the franchise’s inherent silliness. That balance will be the test for a reboot that is trying to please longtime fans without sanding away what made Masters of the Universe memorable in the first place.
The cast is built around that push and pull. Jared Leto plays Skeletor, Camila Mendes is Teela, Idris Elba plays Man-At-Arms, and supporting roles include James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram Man, James Apps as Spikor, Hafthor Bjornsson as Goat Man, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn and Morena Baccarin as Sorceress.
Forty years after the 1987 film, Masters of the Universe is finally giving Battle Cat the live-action debut the character missed the first time around. If the poster is any indication, the movie is leaning into the scale and the camp at the same time, which is exactly where the franchise has always lived.
