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By the Power of Grayskull, I have the power of spoilers for “Masters of the Universe.”
“Masters of the Universe” is a fun summer blockbuster with a shockingly good use of Jared Leto, a fantastic lead, and some clever reasoning for all the silly character names.
Indeed, the movie’s greatest strength (aside from Skeletor) is how it incorporates the sillier elements of the ’80s cartoon without diminishing the story’s stakes or impact. Yes, this is a movie full of goofy characters, a bad guy with a skull for a face, and even a talking green tiger, but when we’re in Eternia, everything is taken seriously. It’s a matter of life and death for these people, and the movie recognizes that.
It works for this movie, which reintroduces the world of Eternia to a new generation, as a way of acknowledging the silliness while building up the characters and world as real. But what about the sequel?
“Masters of the Universe” has more than one credits scene, which tease what could happen in a sequel. First, we get a silly one that’s a fun nod to a missing character from the original cartoon — Orko. The extradimensional blue wizard shows up to impart lessons and summarize the movie’s message.
Then we get the second post-credits scene, teasing a big development for a future sequel. After Prince Adam reclaimed the city of Eternos, we see his mother, Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley), talking to Man-at-Arms (Idris Elba) about their hope that a mystery person will return to them one day, just as Adam did after 15 years on Earth. Suddenly, we cut to another location, and a woman with a red cape and a familiar-looking sword appears overlooking a huge city – none other than She-Ra.
Enter the Princess of Power
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We don’t see the face of the actor playing She-Ra, nor is she addressed as such, but there’s no mistaking the Princess of Power. She has a cartoon-faithful costume complete with her red cape, and she is wielding the unmistakable Sword of Protection. There is even a brief use of the “She-Ra: Princess of Power” theme in the scene. Then another character walks in and asks She-Ra, “Force Captain Adora?” To which the princess replies, “No, not anymore.” Something has happened to She-Ra, and the sequel to “Masters of the Universe” is sure to explore it.
But who, exactly, is She-Ra aka Adora? Well, if you haven’t yet watched “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” one of the best Netflix original shows of all time, we’ll break it down for you. Adora is Prince Adam’s twin sister, who was kidnapped as an infant by Hordak, the leader of the Evil Horde and Skeletor’s former mentor. She was taken to the neighboring planet of Etheria (yes, really), where Adora became a Force Captain in the Evil Horde. As an adult, Adora learns the truth about herself from The Sorceress right as she is reunited with her brother, Prince Adam. Then she turns good and decides to free Etheria from the Horde’s oppression.
Like Adam, Adora has a sword of power, called the Sword of Protection. With it, she can summon the power of Grayskull and transform into She-Ra, gaining superhuman strength. So, how does this tie into a potential “Masters of the Universe” sequel? And what kind of role would She-Ra play?
What do the post-credits scenes mean for a sequel?
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There is a third post-credits scene at the very end of “Masters of the Universe,” one that brings back Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn. We see her grabbing Skeletor’s disembodied head right as we cut to black and hear the evil overlord’s laugh one last time.
So we have two things going on here. It’s clear “Masters of the Universe” was not going to get rid of Skeletor forever, even if he has to be played by Jared Leto. Then we have the introduction of She-Ra. Back in 2022, Amazon announced it was developing a live-action She-Ra series with Nicole Kassell as director, but we haven’t heard anything more about the project. Still, it’s clear She-Ra is an important part of this reboot’s future. “Masters of the Universe” director Travis Knight told Nerdist that “She-Ra has always been a big part of the ‘Masters’ world, and a big part of Adam’s story. In the fullness of time, if we’re lucky to tell more stories in this universe, She-Ra will play a huge part.”
It seems likely that, if more movies are announced, one of two things will happen. Either She-Ra becomes the focus of the first sequel while leaving Skeletor for a potential third movie, or they both show up in the next one. We could have Skeletor reach out to his old mentor Hordak for help in retaking Eternos, and that’s how we get She-Ra to join the fight in either Eternia or even Etheria in order to explore new locations in this universe.