I Visited The Masters Of The Universe Set And Was Shook By The Huge Practical Sets, Costumes, And Props
The power of nostalgia is very real, and one beloved property that’s returning to the big screen this summer is Masters of the Universe. Years after the infamous Dolph Lundgren movie, Travis Knight’s blockbuster will bring the beloved characters to life, with Nicholas Galiztine playing the title role (and getting ripped in the process). I was lucky enough to be among a small group of journalists who got to visit the set last May, and was shook by all the huge practical sets, props, and costumes that I got to see (and touch) in the flesh.
What we know about Masters of the Universe has been limited, but I was fortune enough to get some insider information while visiting the set across the pond. While one might assume that the movie was brought to life with CGI and motion-capture suits, that’s not the case. Instead, massive sets were built by hand, and basically every single costume and prop was build in-house. Producer Jason Blumenthal spoke to us about this process, offering:
Keep in mind our movie takes place 20% on Earth, 80% on Eternia. You cannot walk into a Target or a Best Buy or any store and say, ‘Hey, can you show me the Eternian section? We gotta buy a bunch of for our movie.’ Every single solitary prop, costume, belt, buckle gun is bespoke to this movie. Everything. We were not able to and would not take it from somewhere else, we built it from scratch. We have a 40,000 square foot factory across the street that is literally manufacturing these things in-house. So we can design something on set and basically have it by the end of the day in some sort of 3D model form and depending on then finish to production all under one roof.
While rumors swirled that Masters of the Universe would take place mostly on Earth, that simply was never the case. So to bring beloved characters and their iconic weapons to life, the production team needed to hand-build every single prop and costume piece. Yes, the movie will be enhanced with visual effects, but it didn’t feel like it was being filmed with just green screens and tennis balls.
The Masters of the Universe trailer showed just how successful these effort, and I can’t wait to see the finished product when it hits theaters in June. In addition to being able to see and touch the costumes and prop, we visited four impressive sets that were up in various sound stages. That includes the Sanctum of Castle Greyskull, where I was allowed to pose with the Power Sword. Check out the proof below:
Talk about a pinch me moment. We were also shown an epic, colorful forest, where Teela’s ship had crash landed. Myself and fellow journalists were able to climb aboard the ship itself, and see every little detail in the cockpit. Then there was a prison complex, with doors that looked blasted open. Additionally, there was a hallway that featured the likeness of Morena Baccarin‘s Sorceress, who was given an awesome new look for the new Masters of the Universe movie.
Clearly there was a great deal of care and specificity brought to brining Masters of the Universe to life, which was palpable while visiting the movie’s set. And I can only imagine how great it’ll look on the big screen, especially with VFX added.
All will be revealed when Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Despite visiting the set I still have so many questions, so I’ll be there with bells on like the rest of the fans.
