If you were to go back in time and take a look at me, say around the age of five, you would see a blonde-haired young cherub (I did look innocent back then) spending hours playing with his Castle Greyskull and acting out scenes from his favorite show, He-Man. My parents hooked me up with everything from the castle to the action figures: man, I had it all! My family even took to the mall to meet He-Man himself and we almost got trampled on. Of course, as time progressed I grew less fond of The Masters of the Universe and more into other things, but when I heard that they were making a movie based on my favorite cartoon… I was pumped.
When the movie was eventually released in 1987, it was met with a thunderously apathetic response. Masters of the Universe received a dismal 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 17% … that makes The Fantastic Four look like a contender for Best Picture. Billy Barty was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for worst supporting actor in a motion picture. I guess the thought of a movie headed up by Dolph Lundgren, Courtney Cox, and Billy Barty was not enough to drum up box-office dollars. So the dream of Masters of the Universe sequels died a quick and painless death and left one blonde haired super fan heartbroken.
Fast-forward thirty years, and word broke that Christopher Yost, who penned such Marvel hits as Thor: The Dark World, has taken on the task of bringing He-Man back to silver-screen. What’s important about this hire is that Yost has experience in dealing with both comic books and animated series as well. It seems as if hiring Yost is an indication that this is really going to happen. Columbia Pictures has resurrected my dream of another Master of the Universe movie. So I decided that I would run up into the attic and dust off my old He-Man toys and use the powers of Eternia to inspire me to give you the top 5 actors who should play the title role of He-Man. Executives at Columbia Pictures please takes these names down.
Daniel Cudmore
He is a Canadian actor and stuntman. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the X-Men and Twilight Franchises. The role of He-Man requires someone with a massive physique and dominant presence on the screen and Cudmore fits the bill. His experience in Comic-Book films will help him succeed in the role of both He-Man and Adam, the Prince of Eternia.
Michael O’Hearn
He has appeared in the movies Barbarian, Keeper of Time, and had a minor supporting role in Death Becomes Her. He may not have the extensive resume that some might but based on what I have seen of Mr. O’Hearn he not only has the build but the presence to pull off the He-Man.
Ryan Kwaten
He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 – 2002 in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. After that he was cast in Summerland and in 2008 he was cast as Jason Stackhouse in True Blood. His roles seem to feature some sort of duality or some sort of secret he’s keeping from the others which makes him a very interesting fit for the role He-Man. Plus, more importantly, he looks very close to the actual character.
Kellan Lutz
Our very own Matthew Sardo interviewed Kellan and he alluded that he has his eyes on a particular comic-book role. Could he be referencing the upcoming Masters of the Universe Film? He certainly has not only the build but the acting chops to pull of the role. Plus he does have some box office appeal as well.
Charlie Hunnam
The Son’s of Anarchy star has been long rumored to be inline to take on this role. It’s hard to deny his appeal to a wider audience but I think the fact that he doesn’t look like He-Man might just supersede that. We have to be able to buy into the idea that the actor on screen could very well be He-Man and Charlie Hunnam just wouldn’t be believable. That being said I wouldn’t be floored if they announce that Charlie Hunnam is the next He-Man
