Directed by Travis Knight, the highly anticipated blockbuster The Masters of the Universe is at the top of discussions across the Atlantic in the run-up to its cinema release on June 5, 2026. However, in France, the verdict is in: the film will not be released on the big screen and He-Man’s return will be directly streamed. A radical decision that Seriously explains to you.
The Masters of the Universe deprived of large three-color screens
The absence of a French date in the release calendar has intrigued fans for weeks… After many rumors, the bad news was confirmed: The Masters of the Universe will not be released in cinemas in France! Instead, the film will be available on Prime Video at a later date. A particularly surprising decision given the scale of the project with a colossal budget of 170 million dollars.
The story, which is intended to be in the fun and uninhibited lineage of Guardians of the Galaxyimmerses us in Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), who finds his magic sword after fifteen years of exile to liberate the planet Eternia. To carry this reboot, the production relied on a cast including Jared Leto in the guise of the sinister Skeletor, Camila Mendes (Teela), Alison Brie (Evil-Lyn), James Purefoy (King Randor) and Idris Elba in the role of Duncan. But this deployment of muscles and special effects was not enough to convince the studio to try the adventure of French cinemas.
Several key factors explain this strategic choice on the part of Amazon. First of all, if the franchise Musclor remains an absolute institution in the United Statesthe fan base has become more restricted in France since the end of the cult animated series of the 1980s. The first live-action film from 1987 with Dolph Lundgren had also been a dismal failure, becoming a cult favorite, and the recent reboots of similar pop culture franchises (Power Rangers in 2017, Mortal Kombat 2 etc…) have proven that the French public is cautious about these retro licenses.
Added to this commercial uncertainty is the famous French media timeline. This system, unique in the world, imposes a long waiting period between the release of a film in cinemas and its availability on streaming platforms. For Amazon, releasing the film in theaters in France would have blocked its online exploitation for many months.
The studio therefore prefers to make this blockbuster an exclusive flagship product for its Prime Video subscribers upon its worldwide digital release.. This is not a first for the company, which had already deprived films of cinema Crime 101 (with Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo) or A Working Man with Jason Statham. To discover this new version of Masters of the universeyou will therefore have to wait a few more weeks until Amazon formalizes its streaming date.
Mathilde Fontaine
Editor-in-Chief – Journalist
Editor-in-chief of Serieously, Mathilde Fontaine has been passionate about cinema and series since she spoke and was able to write her first words. A lover of the great classics in which she likes to immerse herself, she is always on the lookout for something new to watch, comment on, and share. As much a fan of Friends as of Columbo, of The Godfather as of La Boum, of The Office as of Reservoir Dogs, she was able to interview personalities like John Krasinsky, Jon Hamm, Pio Marmaï, Léa Drucker or Gérard Jugnot, and covered festivals like Les Arcs or the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
