This summer Masters of the Universe made its debut. Directed by Travis Knight and starring Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, and Jared Leto, the movie was conceived as a big budget take on Mattel’s toy line of the same name.
Released to theatres in June, there were high hopes Masters of the Universe would be a box-office smash. The Masters of the Universe brand has a loyal and dedicated fanbase; director Travis Knight proved he knows his way around ’80s toy lines with 2018’s Bumblebee; and the soundtrack from Daniel Pemberton included a collaboration with Queen’s Brian May!
What could go wrong? Well, as it turned out, something rather significant. Oh, the movie was fantastic and received high praise from countless Masters fans; the problem was, the general public failed to turn out to see it.
As a result, the movie struggled at the box office and got unfairly piled on by entertainment websites, keen to stick the boot in. This made things worse and convinced audiences to give Masters of the Universe a miss on the big screen.
However, after a run in theatres, the movie finally made it onto streaming where it became free to view for Prime Video subscribers. And within days of it appearing on streaming, Masters of the Universe quickly became the No.1 movie on Prime Video all around the world.
The feedback from those who missed it on the big screen? Generally very, very positive.
In fact, there has been a lot of love online for Masters of the Universe. Some people are happy they finally got to see it, others are kicking themselves for not watching it at the cinema, and the rest are asking a key question: When do we get the sequel?
Well, let’s not beat around the bush here. Let’s address the all-important question: Will Masters of the Universe (2026) get a sequel?
At present, the answer falls somewhere between unsure and unlikely. Not impossible, but at the moment, Masters of the Universe 2 is certainly unsure and unlikely – and here’s why.
The problem is, Masters of the Universe had a production budget of $170 million, which doesn’t include any additional marketing costs. So, the figure it needed to make to just break even for all its production costs was a lot more than $170 million.
The film took $114 million at the box-office, which means based on its production budget alone it lost $56 million. Factor in those marketing costs and it lost considerably more.
Now, while we would all love to think movie studios make movies for a.) art, and b.) our entertainment, the truth is they are made to make money. And lots of it too.
Movies have producers and investors who pump cash into productions to make a sizeable profit. Obviously this didn’t happen with Masters of the Universe.
As such, those same producers and investors won’t be as keen to put money into a sequel. If the first movie struggled to get bums on seats, then they won’t risk any more money on a follow-up.
Now, of course, I hear you saying “but wait, we need a sequel. I want to see more of Orko, I want to see She-Ra, I want to know if Skeletor comes back!” Well, you’re not alone in feeling this way, but you or I wanting a sequel doesn’t mean it will automatically happen.
From the point of view of studios and movie executives, films are business opportunities. They produce them to make money, so a Masters of the Universe sequel has to make sense from a business point of view – as sad as that sounds.
All feels a bit depressing, doesn’t it? Well, it does, but take heart, there is a silver lining here.
Masters of the Universe is doing well on Prime Video and the online buzz is very positive, and very encouraging. If the film continues to do well, it continues to expand beyond the established fan base, it gets watched and re-watched countless times, and brings new eyes to Prime Video, this really could help things moving forward.
The film won’t recoup its production budget (not in the traditional sense anyway), but it could prove valuable to Amazon MGM Studios. Films which do well on streaming are looked on favourably by studios, and sometimes they get sequels.
Look at Netflix’s Enola Holmes from 2020. The first film didn’t go to theatres, it was a streaming-only title, and because it did so well, Netflix produced two sequels.
So, it is possible that Masters of the Universe having a second life on Prime Video could swing things in a positive direction. Movies doing well on streaming do count for something – especially on Prime Video.
If Masters of the Universe is a huge hit, it might increase subscriptions, it might increase toy sales (or sales of Masters merchandise), and perhaps most important of all, it builds brand awareness for Prime Video. This in turn means Prime Video becomes better appreciated by subscribers keen to spend their money on the best streaming services available.
And it’s important to note that Prime Video is having a good run at the moment. Amazon MGM Studios (Amazon being the owner of Prime Video) has recently been involved in some excellent films including Project Hail Mary, The Sheep Detectives, Challengers, Air, Crime 101, and of course, Masters of the Universe, and these titles all help the streamer sell itself as a destination for big, recognisable brands.
Streaming services want and need brands. Just look at Disney, which continually pushes Disney+ with big brands such as Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar. Prime Video wants this same kind of brand power too, and something like Masters of the Universe could provide this.
There is every possibility that Masters of the Universe could return based on the simple fact that now more people are watching the movie on Prime Video, it is seen as a popular brand to build from. Amazon needs a Star Wars or an MCU, and Masters of the Universe could easily perform this role.
But would Masters of the Universe return in the form of a direct sequel? Maybe. Maybe not. Masters of the Universe could return with a sequel, or Amazon MGM Studios could work with Mattel on other ideas and avenues.
I think what is important to remember, regardless of what happens next, is that Travis Knight delivered a Masters of the Universe movie which could exist as a one-off if it needed to. The director didn’t create a movie which is Part One of something, with a huge cliffhanger ending never to be resolved; he delivered a film which told Adam/He-Man’s origin story, and if it never goes any further (as frustrating as that would be) it is a fully rounded, very accomplished origin story.
An origin story filled with plenty of action, adventure, and the things that fans really wanted to see, such as Eternia, Castle Grayskull, and all the iconic heroes and villains. If it never goes any further, this movie delivered Snake Mountain, Tri-Klops, Orko, Cringer, and so much more.
Yes, there are a couple of teases for a sequel, namely the appearance of She-Ra and the suggested survival of Skeletor, but if we never get another movie, let’s look at it this way: She-Ra is out there, ready to fight the good fight (hurrah), and He-Man will never get rid of Skeletor, no matter what he does. We kind of already knew this about Skeletor anyway.
The best thing anyone can do at present, is enjoy Masters of the Universe and recommend it to friends and family. If they love fun fantasy escapism, or they like the sort of action and adventure you get in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then Masters of the Universe is right up their street, so tell them!
Outside of this, watch and re-watch the movie if you wish (not that you need any encouragment), as all those views will help for the future success of the brand. The same goes for the sale of digital copies of the film, and DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K sales – it all adds up.
Masters of the Universe deserved to do well at the box-office and sadly it didn’t do as well as hoped. But, it’s a highly enjoyable fantasy romp, and audiences will come to it in time, and champion it – of that I am certain.
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