‘It was hard to make that choice’: Masters of the Universe director Travis Knight explains why some popular He-Man characters were left out of the new sci-fi fantasy film

Masters of the Universe‘s cast does not include all popular characters
Fan favorites like Orko are conspicuous by their absence from their trailers
The film’s director has explained why they are not part of the main ensemble

The filmmaker behind this year’s Masters of the Universe the film has warned fans that some of the franchise’s most popular characters will not appear as part of its main cast.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Travis Knight admitted that he and the rest of the film’s chief creative team had some tough choices to make over who to include in the new Amazon movie. Ultimately, any fan favorites that didn’t make the cut were left out because, in Knight’s own words, they “wouldn’t work within the story we’re telling”.

In fairness to Knight and company, there are a number of classic He-Man characters that are part of the thing. That said, there are notable absences from its ensemble, including – but not limited to – Orko, Man-E-Faces and Merman.

Latest videos from

A close-up of Adam/He-Man flanked by Roboto, Man at Arms, Teela and Cringer in Amazon's 2026 adaptation of Masters of the Universe — Roboto (far left) and Cringer (far right) are part of this film’s large ensemble (Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)

Understandably, there’s no way one of 2026’s new movies could involve every familiar face from the Mattel-created multimedia property. Nevertheless, some fans are sure to have been disappointed when they realized their favorite character wasn’t part of the cast – especially since B-tier individuals like Ram-Man, Fisto and Mechaneck made the cut.

As a self-confessed Masters of the Universe hell, Knight is well aware of the high regard some characters hold. But, as he told me, the film’s makers had to draw a line in the sand somewhere to make sure its cast wasn’t overcrowded, nor its plot hampered by an inordinate amount of characters.

“Film is a time-based art,” Knight said. “You only have so much time to tell the story that you want to tell, and even if it’s called Masters of the Universeit’s basically Adam’s film and story. So there are definitely things that are outside the bounds of what you can tell in a two-and-a-half-hour film — you have to be disciplined about it.”

“There were definitely things I wanted to include in the movie, but they didn’t fit,” he continued. “It would be a distraction and wouldn’t work in the story we’re telling.”

“It’s such a big world and universe and there are so many characters that I love, so it was hard to make that choice,” added Knight. “But I think it honors so many different forms [of the franchise]. We have characters from the comics and the Dolph Lundgren live-action movie from 1987, so it was really a way for us to pay tribute to all the incredible work that has gone into this franchise over the last 40 years.”

Want to know if He-Man’s latest movie adaptation is worth watching? Check my Masters of the Universe review before you see it in cinemas from June 3 (UK) and June 5 (US and everywhere else). And for more exclusive coverage of the film, find out how Masters of the Universe pays homage to the greatest He-Man meme of all time.