‘Masters of the Universe’ Flopped in Theaters, Then Conquered Streaming: Travis Knight Reveals If He-Man Will Rise Again
He-Man has never had an easy time on the big screen. The ‘Masters of the Universe‘ franchise began as a Mattel toy line in 1982, and the first live-action film, starring Dolph Lundgren, flopped at the box office and left the property on the shelf for years.
Travis Knight’s new reboot was meant to change that, and it arrived with a stacked cast that included Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba and Jared Leto as Skeletor. Instead, it followed a familiar path in theaters, opening to $54 million and finishing with $114 million worldwide against a reported budget of $170 million.
Then came a twist nobody saw coming. After landing on Prime Video on July 22, the movie became the most-watched title on any streaming service in Nielsen’s rankings for the week of July 20 to July 26, with 1.17 billion minutes viewed. Now Knight has addressed whether that comeback means more adventures on Eternia. Speaking in an exclusive interview with ScreenRant while promoting ‘Wildwood’, he said, “In the end, these sorts of decisions are out of our control, you always imagine where these people’s lives go after the end of the movie, and if the universe, in its wisdom, asks us to make more of these things, we would be delighted to give them more.”
It isn’t a confirmation, and Knight was careful not to promise anything he can’t deliver. He stressed that the decision isn’t his to make and that every movie has to live or die on its own merits. Still, the phrase “delighted to give them more” leaves the door wide open.
The tone also matches how he has talked about the project before. He has described making the film as one of the most joyous experiences of his career, and he has said he sees the movie as a self-contained story. That makes his latest comments feel like a shift toward openness without a firm plan behind it.
The film itself has already hinted at a bigger future. It includes 3 post-credits scenes, and one of them features the first live-action She-Ra, played by Lauren Saliu. The later scenes hint at the possibility of a sequel, which suggests the filmmakers were planning for more even if the box office made it uncertain.
Fans who hoped the Nielsen result would settle the question may need to wait. The film’s streaming dominance lasted only one week, and for the week of July 27 to August 2 it fell out of Nielsen’s Top 10 overall chart entirely. Prime Video users also gave it a modest audience rating.
Even so, some observers argue that Amazon may need to think about the film differently. A sequel built for Prime Video, with a tighter budget, has been floated as a realistic path forward, and that approach could make more sense than another big theatrical release. Whether Amazon sees the first movie as a success will likely decide everything.
Discover your true power. Watch the Teaser Trailer for Masters Of The Universe now, and see the movie only in theaters June 5. https://t.co/VCWWhwyqZD
— Amazon MGM Studios (@AmazonMGMStudio) January 22, 2026
Right now, the situation is a mix of good news and uncertainty. Knight is clearly willing to return, the cast has said they would be ready for more, and the film’s ending leaves room for new stories. On the other side, a $114 million global gross against such a large budget is a hard number to ignore.
What seems clear is that there is real interest in seeing more of this version of Eternia. Whether that interest turns into a greenlight is a question only Amazon can answer.
Should Amazon greenlight a sequel?
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