While it's never been official Masters of the Universe canon, theories and speculation about the "unrequited love" between He-Man and Skeletor (mostly on the latter's side) have persisted for years.
The franchise is often perceived as being queer-coded, and Skeletor's obsession with destroying He-Man and taking over Castle Grayskull has been perceived by some as an unrequited infatuation. The counterargument from fans is that it's too much of a stretch, but there are more than a few think pieces out there about the 1987 movie, for example, being a "tragic gay love story."
Agree or disagree, it's hard to deny that there's at least a hint of that in the Masters of the Universe reboot that just opened in theaters. That comes during a sequence that sees Skeletor force Prince Adam to revisit his mundane life on Earth, with Jared Leto's villain rocking some very unique looks that quickly went viral on social media.
However, there's one moment, in particular, that's generating a lot of discussion. After calling He-Man a "naughty boy," Skeletor says, "You can pretend to be the hero, with your giant muscles, the big long sword dangling between your glorious thighs..."
That's quite the innuendo, and while it was probably meant in good fun, it's only added further fuel to the fire.
Some modern interpretations of Masters of the Universe have established that Skeletor is He-Man's uncle, perhaps to move away from the long-standing theories about the villain's romantic feelings for the leader of the Heroic Warriors. That isn't mentioned in Amazon MGM Studios' reboot, which is currently struggling at the box office.
Previously, filmmaker Travis Knight said, "Skeletor was a really interesting villain. He looked cool. He was scary. He was funny. He was insecure. And then of course he had this distinctive voice."
"I wanted someone to craft their own version of that," the director explained. "Jared approached us, because he loves Skeletor and has his own history with the character. He wanted to swing for the fences. And ultimately we landed on something that I’m really happy with. Skeletor’s kind of the embodiment of toxic masculinity."
Check out the newly leaked stills and footage from Masters of the Universe below.
In Masters of the Universe, Director Travis Knight brings the legendary franchise back to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure. After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto).
To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
The supporting cast includes Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, Stephen Adentan as Moss Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto.
Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters.