Thinking completely inside the box is pretty par for the course for most franchise movie making. Studios tend to have lists of A-listers they think could fit in various roles or character archetypes for whatever the project is at hand. Often times if the studios go with a lesser-known actor for a hero role, they tend to go safe and dependable with the baddies. When it comes to “guys who won Oscars who also can play skeletal villains,” the list is pretty much Jared Leto, the end. And that’s exactly what Amazon MGM are doing with the role of Skeletor in their live-action Masters of the Universe movie, Variety reports.
The Masters of the Universe movie—based on the 40+-year franchise which started with Filmation’s groundbreaking 1983 animated series—has already filled up most of its roster of characters. English heartthrob Nicholas Galitzine will play Eternia’s beefy savior, He-Man, while Idris Elba and Camila Mendes will play allies Man-at-Arms and Teela, respectively. On the villains side of things, Alison Brie will play Skeletor’s number two, Evil-Lyn. Sam C. Wilson (House of the Dragon) will play Trap Jaw; Kojo Attah (The Beekeeper) will play Tri-Klops; and Hafthor Bjornsson (Game of Thrones) will play Goat Man. That’s right. The Mountain will play Goat Man. Mountain Goat. (Just me?)
Skeletor is notable in the pantheon of villains in cartoon media for having a seemingly muscular body but a skull for a head. That’s something that always weirded me out. And yes, I know he’s magical, but why is he Lou Ferrigno (what a reference) from the neck down? In the 1987 Cannon Films Masters of the Universe, Frank Langella played Skeletor with a rubber skull mask, which kinda worked better, weirdly?
Leto has a history of playing grinning, emaciated villains or undead things. He of course played the worst Joker, and the Hatbox Ghost in the recent Haunted Mansion movie. And Morbius kinda had a skeletal face thing going on at times. Anyway, he’ll probably do great.
Masters of the Universe from director Travis Knight will begin filming in June 2025.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.