Masters of the Universe: Noah Centineo on the Responsibility of Playing He-Man

After years in development, a new Masters of the Universe film is finally headed to the big screen, and it sounds like the film’s star is pretty excited. Noah Centineo, who will play He-Man in the upcoming reboot, recently spoke about the significance of the part in an interview with MTV News.

“It’s a really big responsibility.” Centineo explained. “This is like first one in, last one out every single day, which I’ve done before, but I’ve never done it on a studio level. Which, studio level is the same as indie, but like, they got playback… It’s a big opportunity and I feel more than ready to tackle it.”

Centineo was also asked if he’s started practicing He-Man’s iconic “I have the power!” catchphrase, to which he responded with a confident yes.

“I’ve been screaming it until my voice is vocally fried, man.” Centineo revealed.

Centineo then spoke about what sort of tone the film will have, and while he didn’t tease much, he expressed a lot of trust in directors Adam and Aaron Nee.

“It’s a new universe and it’s a new studio and their take on a universe.” Centineo added. “The Nee brothers, Adam and Aaron Nee, they’re directing it, and they’re the filmmakers in charge of the story, and they are doing one hell of a job developing the world and all these things, so. I can’t tell you what tone they’re going for, but they’re genius, so.”

The Nee brothers are just the latest creatives to be brought on to Masters of the Universe, after McG and David Goyer both were attached to the project in recent years. While fans will just have to wait and see if the franchise takes a serious or lighthearted tone, the latter is certainly something that has been floated around.

“I had a really irreverent take on Masters of the Universe, and the studio, at the time, was very focused on a Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings take.” Jeff Wadlow revealed of his previous MotU pitch. “I love He-Man. I still have all my original figures from the ’80s. That’s how I got the job. I brought them in and put them on the table and was like, ‘This is why I’m a director!’ I wrote a scene where Prince Adam meets Ram Man and says to him, ‘So, they call you Ram Man, huh?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘Do you like that name?’ And Ram Man goes, ‘I’m owning it.’ So, there was an irreverence to it, but at the time, that just didn’t gel with what they wanted to do.”

“It’s interesting now, with Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy.” Wadlow continued. “I think that’s sort of what I was trying to do, but either I was too early or they just never saw it that way. That’s the weird thing about making movies in the studio system. You can have a take and a real point of view, but if it doesn’t line up with the point of view of the people who are writing the checks, it doesn’t matter.”

Are you excited to see Centineo play He-Man in Masters of the Universe? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Masters of the Universe is set to open on March 5, 2021.