The latest Masters of the Universe trailer is packed with new details, chief among them a first listen at Jared Leto’s take on villain Skeletor.
The trailer, below, revolves around He-Man, as it should, but we also get to hear Skeletor’s evil laugh, which isn’t quite as over the top as the outlandish cackle made famous by the much-loved cartoon. We also hear Skeletor trash talk for the first time. “The universe shall quake in my shadow,” Skeletor declares in a rather understated, almost hushed tone. “You may have the power,” he tells He-Man, “but you’re too scared to use it.” Anyone else getting Tom Hardy Bane vibes?
So, what is Leto going for here? Last month, Masters of the Universe director Travis Knight told Empire that Skeletor is “the embodiment of toxic masculinity,” adding that he’d worked with Leto, famous for playing Joker in Suicide Squad, Niander Wallace in Blade Runner 2049, and Morbius in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, to bring the infamous cackling sorcerer to life without sacrificing the qualities that helped him stand the test of time.
“Skeletor was a really interesting villain,” the director said when describing the original Masters of the Universe cartoon. “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,” he said.
