Dolph Lundgren felt “great” to “pass the sword over” to new He-Man actor Nicholas Galitzine, who plays the superhero in Masters of the Universe.
Dolph Lundgren is thrilled to see Nicholas Galitzine take on his alter ego He-Man in the Masters of the Universe.
The 68-year-old actor played the superhero in the 1987 film of the same name, and Lundgren said “passing the sword over” to Galitzine, 31, was a “great feeling for me”.
He added to People: “It’s great that he’s such a great He-Man, and I think it’s a great production, and I was really honoured to be part of it. It was fun for me to show up in a movie and give him some advice when he needs it the most.”
Lundgren plays an Earth-bound character in Masters of the Universe, which sees He-Man battle it out against the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) to save planet Eternia and to protect the secrets of Castle Grayskull.
The superhero debuted as an action figure in 1982, and the superhero became popular thanks to the 1983 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
And Lundgren said there is “still something special about this franchise”.
He added: “There’s something about what they created back in 1983, I think it was, the series came out, the little cartoon came out and the toys, and there’s something about it that people respond to.”
Although Lundgren has been replaced by Galitzine, the latter felt like a “complete fraud” when he first tried on his He-Man costume.
Galitzine recently explained to Extra: “To be candid, when I first tried on the costume, you know, when I hadn’t fully made my transformation, I felt like a complete fraud. You know, I felt undeserving. I felt like, ‘How am I gonna get to this point?’”
The star did not feel he had enough time to get in the shape he needed to be in.
Galitzine said: “I come from a sporting background… I’ve been in gyms, but I think to transform my body from a state which was definitely not ready to play He-Man to adorn this mini skirt and chest plate is obviously incredibly trepidatious… It was five months… not enough time really to do it in a comfortable way.
“We even had to start shooting while I was cutting, which was a challenge in and of itself, you know, because you’re acting in a scene and the first AD goes, ‘Oh, we got 10 minutes. We’re going to change the setup.’ And you run outside to the assault bike, and you’re just pedalling away.”
But he ultimately realised his hard work had paid off.
The entertainer said: “It wasn’t really until that first day as He-Man on set when I put the costume on, I had the tan, I had the hair, and I went to set.
“You know, you’re trying to like catch people’s eyes to see their reaction to you, and so the feeling was very good, and Travis and Jason and Todd, our producers, you know, they saw me.
“And, you know, for our producers, they’ve been with this IP for 18 years, and so, it was really in seeing their reaction to me that I was like, ‘Okay, you can calm down now. The last five months haven’t been in vain.'”
Masters of the Universe also stars Camila Mendes (Teela), Sam C. Wilson (Trap Jaw), Kojo Attah (Tri-Klops), and Hafthor Bjornsson (Goat Man).
Original He-Man Dolph Lundgren excited as Nicholas Galitzine takes on superhero
