Masters of the Universe Director Officially Confirms Franchise Plans After Fantastic First Reactions

Filmmaker Travis Knight has experience with big franchises after helming the successful Transformers spinoff Bumblebee in 2018. Now, he could be starting his own franchise with Masters of the Universe.

Speaking to CBR's Grae Drake, Knight confirmed that he already has ideas of how he could expand the franchise. So far, Amazon MGM Studios has only confirmed one film, which hits theaters on June 5. The director highlighted that Masters of the Universe can be a standalone, but he already knows how to continue the story and who to cast in a potential sequel.

The film, which has a sizable budget between $170 million and $200 million, has to be a hit before any franchise plans can be confirmed. However, Knight admitted that he does know how he could continue the story if Amazon greenlights a sequel.

"Yeah, of course," Knight replied when asked if he had a dream cast for a potential follow-up.

"I have never made a sequel, I try to tell these movies as if we're only getting one shot of telling these characters' story and that it is a self-contained thing."

Knight continued, "I think we've done that for this movie. But I also, I have so much affection for these characters and this world, and it's so much bigger than the scope of this film, there's so many things that I wanted to do in this movie that was outside the bounds of what the movie could be."

"We made the movie we wanted to make, and I'm very proud of that," Knight insisted.

However, he teased, "If we are to be so lucky to tell more stories set in this world, I know exactly where it's gonna go, and I know exactly who I would put in those roles." Unfortunately, he didn't clarify who.

A longtime declared fantasy fan, Knight also admitted that he treasured the opportunity to direct a He-Man movie. The filmmaker also highlighted that a respect for the source material is paramount.

"I do love it, which shouldn't sound like something that is unusual," Knight started. "But I do think that anyone who is involved in any type of adaptation should really have a deep understanding and affection for the underlying material, which I do."

There are no reviews for the reboot at the time of writing, but Masters of the Universe received fantastic early reactionsfollowing its world premiere. Those who saw it praised it for being extremely entertaining, with great direction, fast-paced action, and fantastic visual effects. However, it's the audience's opinion studios care about, and that will only be revealed once it hits theaters.

Travis Knight Clarified Masters of the Universe's Time Setting

The new fantasy movie is a reboot of the 1987 film, and it's set both on Earth and Prince Adam's home planet, Eternia. Speaking about the time setting, Knight detailed his 1980s inspiration, despite being set in the present day.

"Because of when this whole universe was born, which was started in 1982, and it came to the height of its powers in the mid- to late '80s, it was important for me that we acknowledged that in some way," Knight explained, with tonal aspects, musical choices, and the score.

"One of the big touchstones for the musical story of the movie was the 1980s movie Flash Gordon, which I adore," and the film's Queen soundtrack, explaining that the Masters of the Universe movie features Queen guitar player Brian May on the soundtrack as an homage.

The film stars Nicholas Galitzine in the lead role as Adam Glenn/ He-Man, alongside Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, James Purefoy as King Randor, Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena Glenn, Idris Elba as Duncan / Man-At-Arms, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Malcolm / Fisto.

Masters of the Universe premieres in theaters on June 5.