Feb 04 2009
Casting the Masters of the Universe Movie
Apparently the Masters of the Universe movie is out of developmental purgatory and moving forward. Warner Bros. has selected John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) to direct the film, which begs the question: will this be animated or live action? I’m hoping it’s live action, but we all remember what happened the last time He-Man was adapted for the big screen. Assuming it’s not animated, I’ve cast actors and actresses in the roles of Eternia’s bravest warriors and most evil beings:
Ryan Kwanten as He-Man
Ryan Kwanten is one of the best things about True Blood, and he’s got the look to play He-Man. He’s already pretty jacked, so beefing up for the role wouldn’t be too difficult. If this Australian actor can play a hillbilly, he shouldn’t have too much trouble playing the Prince of Eternia. He-Man was the hardest out of all the Masters of the Universe characters to cast – there aren’t a lot of blonde actors, and there’s even fewer actors who are actually built. Ryan would make a great He-Man, and he’s not too rough around the edges to portray He-Man’s gentler side.
Jessica Biel as Teela
Maybe it’s just me, but Jessica Biel looks exactly what I think a real-life Teela would look like. She’s gorgeous, athletic, and she showed in Blade III that she can handle weapons and fighting scenes just fine.
Brendan Gleeson as Man-at-Arms
For Man-at-Arms, I needed an actor who could be convincing as both a rugged tough guy and old enough to be Teela’s father. Gleeson was terrific in the killer-as-mentor role in In Bruges, so if you slap some weapons, armor, and a big mustache on him, I think you’ve got yourself a great Man-at-arms.
Mickey Rourke as Ram Man
Big, bad Mickey Rourke would be perfect as the dimwitted, hulking warrior with a heart of gold. Rourke doesn’t need to convince anyone that he can play a bad ass, and his performance in The Wrestler showed us that he can emote pretty damn well, too. Rourke’s battered and worn look would only add to Ram Man’s character.
Dwayne Johnson as Stratos
Stratos is strong and graceful, and many depictions of the Avionian make his “race” seem ambiguous. Dwayne Johnson, since he’s left the wrestling ring, is no longer an enormous animal, but a slimmed-down, athletic looking actor who would be perfect gliding through the skies of Eternia. Plus, I’d love to see the Rock get away from the Disney kids’ stuff and back into some real action.
Frank Langella as Skeletor
What, you don’t think the guy who played Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon would make a good Skeletor? Well, he played Skeletor in the first movie, but everything about that character sucked. Of course, I wouldn’t cast Langella if I thought it was the actor’s fault; Skeletor was terrible because the makeup, writing, and surrounding actors were atrocious. Let’s give Langella another shot at playing a great, evil character. After his Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor, I’m sure he’d drop everything.
Anne Hathaway as Evil-Lyn
Evil-Lyn is the most deceitful and easily the most intelligent of Skeletor’s minions, and she could probably command Skeletor’s forces better than Skeletor himself. Anne Hathaway has the looks to play the seductive Evil-Lyn, but more importantly, she’s shown that she can really shine in a role where she isn’t the good girl.
Ron Perlman as Beast Man
I thought this one was obvious. Forget Hellboy, Ron Perlman was born to play Beast Man.
Gary Oldman as Trap Jaw
Trap Jaw – with a good script – would definitely have one of the most interesting backstories, so a versatile character actor like Oldman would be ideal to play the biomechanical menace. Oldman has played a wide range of bizarre characters, such as Mason Verger, Drexl Spivey, and Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, so I’m sure with Trap Jaw, Oldman would turn in a memorable performance and breathe life into his character.
Andy Serkis as Mer-Man
Serkis’ most famous roles involve him never actually appearing on screen (King Kong and Gollum (and yes, I know he appears briefly as Smeagol)), and that’s because his ability to move like a creature from another world is unmatched. Whether you want to smother him in makeup and latex or attach motion-capture balls to his body and make Mer-Man a computer animated character, Serkis would be the best at creating eerily natural movements for this underwater killer.
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ok, i dont agree with all the ideas, but seriously… this Ryan guy is way to small to play He-Man!
YES! Big name actors and a story line that channels the best of “Lord of the Rings” style “Lord of Evil – Skeletor” vs. a smaller yet determined band of good guys led by He – Man and make it realistic, dark and dirty… would do justice to this most beloved of 80′s cartoons/action figures. I still have Castle Greyskull and all my figures… and I just turned 30…
I THINK THAT I AM ONLY MAN ON EARTH THAT CAN BE HE-MAN I NEW MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MOVIE. I AM A BIG FAN I AND KNOW HOW TOO PLAY THIS ROLE
MantisMKE: Skeletor is an insurgent, trying to gain power in a world where He-Man’s parents are still in charge. The whole, band of good heroes rebelling against an oppressive force is the premise of She-Ra, which is one of the things which makes her slightly more badass.
And Jessica Alba may look like Teela, but she isn’t worthy to wear the cobra headdress and everyone knows it.
(This is probably the most nerdy comment I’ve ever left, and I’m somewhat proud about that.)
[...] I was searching for pics for my Casting The Masters of the Universe article, I came across some pretty amusing cosplay pics. As is always the case with cosplay, some of the [...]
[...] Read the original: Unreality – Casting the Masters of the Universe Movie | [...]
Some of those aren’t half bad, but I think Vanessa Lengies (Stick It) should play Teela, and David Keith should play Man-At-Arms.
Also:
Clamp Champ-Darius McCrary (Family Matters)
King Randor-Jeff Bridges
The Sorceress-Mariska Hargitay
Buzz-Off-Orlando Bloom
Skeletor-Willem Dafoe
If in the sequels, the She-Ra series is introduced:
Adora-Hayden Panettiere
She-Ra-Estella Warren
Hordak-Peter Stormare
@ J. Purifoy
I think your Dafoe as Skeletor call is pretty good, but Stormare as Hordak? Brilliant.
i think dolph lundrgen was the perfect looking he-man and the closest one now would have to be brad pitt cause he did really good in troy and bulking up would be hard for him and he’d be a good prince adam
HOW ABOUT “HHH”, AS HE-MAN EVERY BODY……..
@ CESAR
HHH might look the part, sort of, but he’s not very likeable. I think that hurts his case.
what about Manny-Faces??..okay..that’s just because my brother is crying about him in the background..but really??
@orlisnjangel
You mean Man-E-Faces? I guess it could be anyone, what with all his different faces…but how about Crispin Glover?
“And Jessica Alba may look like Teela, but she isn’t worthy to wear the cobra headdress and everyone knows it.”
You mean Jessica Biel? That was the OP’s suggestion, which is pretty spot on.
Talks of missouri filmmaker Terrance Davis of (Columbia Missouri) to audition for the role of Stratos in new Masters Of The Universe film. He has been featured in two indie films. “Norman” and “Farewell to Us”
Good Luck!
Okay most of these actors/actresses would never take such roles and are purely the fantasy Idea of the poster. You may find them attractive and would love to see them in roles that just would not fit them in reality. I mean you placed Dwayne Johnson in a role for a character no one truly knows or remembers? Use more thought next time.
I think the poster imagined a nice cast, very original!
I’d rather give Willem Defoe the part of King Hiss (or Cobra Khan). He has something snakeish
And I’d have Viggo Mortensen as Triclops!!!
Maybe Liam Neeson as Mekaneck? And Kevin Spacey as Skeletor. Imagine the (somehow creepy) subtle soft voice but able to get verrrrry angry…
I think Virus Girl needs to calm down and also get her facts straight:
First off, most actors and actresses WOULD take roles of something that was major to increase star-power and get into more films (it’s a career and they wanna succeed)…With that, look at the recent 1980′s explosion of movies coming out (my era): Transformers, G.I. Joe, Smurfs is coming out with an animated movie, as well as the A-Team etc – AND – video-game movies: Tomb-Raider (superstar Angelina Jolie), Resident Evil, Silent-Hill, etc. – They all had either named stars, or rising stars…
Hence, to say that no big-name actors would take these parts is ridiculous – these types of films are now becoming a gold-mine for producers and actors…It’s not going away anytime soon – do your research next time before posting an opinion – since you seem to be taking it seriously…but man, us guys just think it’s plain FUN to play the ‘imagine’ game…
Also, ‘use more thought next time’ – wow…Someone must be single to take something so seriously – I wouldn’t put up with that kind of remark for something that’s supposed to be fun…
I remember all the characters vividly; not sure how anyone could forget Stratos as he was pretty dang cool (maybe not in your opinion, but in mine he was)…And what a great choice to play him; I think it was spot-on…Any suggestions?…
In most movie remakes, people use unmemorable characters & make them shine in movies (Toad in X-Men played by the amazing Ray Park is a fine example)…Stratos, and many other unmemorable characters, could always get refined and find better life in movie adaptations…
Madison, your list is really good; I do however feel that I go with the posted comment above about considering Willem DaFoe as Skeletor: I like Frank Langella, and he would be great, but Willem DaFoe could really make a mean Skeletor with his expressions alone : )
Kick-arse!…Can’t wait to see what becomes of the movie – animation or live-action – long-live He-Man : )
wow, that was bullcrap. I feel the urge to bathe now, or at least remove my boots before walking inside.
[...] Everyone had something they were really into when they were a kid. I was definitely into G.I. Joe, as well as Transformers and M.A.S.K. But nothing captivated me like He-Man and The Masters of the Universe. In all honestly, aside from maybe baseball cards, nothing even came close. I still think the whole Masters of the Universe concept and characters are pretty sweet, and I always get excited when I read rumors about a Masters of the Universe movie. [...]
Wow I finally found a place discussing what I- unfortunately- spend most of my daydreaming time thinking about- who to be all the characters of another MOTU movie…. Amazing that someone else sees Jessica Biel as the only woman on Earth to play Teela- she looks exactly like her!
For the most part, I like less-famous actors in these types of roles, especially in the case of He-Man. But I got into these toys in the beginning when there were only 7 or 8 characters and got out just before the Evil Horde. So I would love to see a movie with a nice budget treat the original franchise with a little respect and do it justice. Something along the lines of Lord of the Rings, or the Star Trek reboot would be incredible.
Ok, here is how I see things:
He-Man – Brad Pitt (he is as close as we get to He-Man from the cartoons, look how he played Achilles in Troy)
Teela- Jessica Biel
Man-at-Arms – Mickey Rourke
Sorceress – Angelina Jolie
She-Ra/Adora – Kristanna Loken
Skeletor – Willem Dafoe (perfect for the role including voice)
Beastman – Ron Perlman (of course)
Evil-Lyn – Monica Bellucci
Wishful thinking, I know!!!
A live action He-man?! I am way past that. It will never work and it will not be a good movie. I repeat, it will not be a good movie. Eternia could really come to life in CG. The only way he-man would work is CG. Something on the line of Beowolf or Avatar. The guy from trueblood would not make a good he-man. I can’t even invision most of the actors you sited. The only good suggestion you had was Jessica Biel, maybe it was just that sexy ass pic you had of her!
A lot of theses people are the worse idea for playing theses characters, worse person to play He-man is Ryan Kwanten, he proberly good to play prince adam, I believe Dwayne Johnson should be giving that part after seeing him in The Scorpion King and Frank Langella as Skeletor, he was brilliant in the original Masters of the Universe movie, but he’s too old and flabby, Anne Hathaway as Evil-Lyn, that’s a good idea, Jessica Biel as Teela, thats a bad idea, she isn’t young enough for teela and Brendan Gleeson as Man-at-Arms, ARE YOU ON DRUGS???? Take some consideration for the original series.
The 1987 Heman movie was tremendous. How dare you diss it.
Not the way to treat you beloved ruler. Throw down your weapons or you die!
am helloooooo? What about SHE-RA?????? Why isn’t she here?!
who will play the following characters
Randoor
Marlana
The Saucouress
spikor
Adoora/SHE-RA
And who will play the rest of the characters from SHE-RA Princess of power series, the HE-MAN and The SHE-RA series was not completed without each other this explains the story in more detail from two the series.
If you watch the first 5 episodes of the SHE-RA series this explains
how Adoora becomes SHE-RA and how she becomes is reunited with Adam/HE-MAN after that Adoora was kidnapped from enternia has a baby by Hordak.
What about Jane Seymour as the sorceress and Sharon Stone as Evil Lynn? Vin Disel as Ram Man maybe.
The 1987 Movie killed the “Masters of the Universe” with the cast and crew for that. However there may be a chance to recreate this classic cartoon into a blockbuster smash. Chris Hemsworth, “Thor” was decent enough actor however really lacks the physical apperence that is needed to be HE-MAN, maybe he would be a good Prince Adam?
In regards to other comments using Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as people to play in this movie, BIG FREAKING MISTAKE! CG animation like they used in AVATAR. That would be the best way so that they can bring everything to life, to include Orko and Battle Cat, (aka Cringer). I just hope this will disapoint me as much as Dolph Lundran did.
Ryan from Trueblood is way too small and the same for Brad Pitt. The original movie did alright. If they want to make money for the Mattel toy company get them to sign off it. Jessica Biel I can see her playing as Teela.