Chris Hemsworth To Star As He-Man In Masters Of The Universe?
Sony needs a new He-Man. Is Chris Hemsworth it?
This article is more than 2 years old
The long-gestating He-Man reboot has returned to the back burner for a while as Sony is looking to fill the lead role once again and their sights are focused squarely on Chris Hemsworth.
According to rumor-meister Daniel Richtman and his Patreon page, Sony would like Chris Hemsworth to lift the Sword of Power and utter those famous lines, “By the power of Grayskull. I have the power!” It’s not the first time Hemsworth has been mentioned in the same breath as He-Man, but it is kind of surprising since Sony already had their He-Man.
Back in 2018, Noah Centineo was chosen to be the next He-Man and since that time was attached to the project. But after a little over two years of starts and stops, mainly stops, Centineo has dropped out of the project. There was no specific reason given, his representative told Collider, “He is no longer attached to that project.” So back to square one for Sony.
Nearly a decade ago, Chris Hemsworth’s name began to appear alongside He-Man. He was on director Jon M. Chu’s wish list but at the time, Hemsworth pretty much took himself out of the running. During a 2012 interview with Empire Magazine, Hemsworth first acknowledged the fact that Dolph Lundgren, who played Prince Adam in the 1987 feature Masters of the Universe, felt Hemsworth would be perfect for the role. But then Hemsworth stated via NME, “I can’t play He-Man, it’s pretty much Thor, isn’t it?”
Yes, Chris, it is. If you swap Thor’s famous hammer for He-Man’s powerful sword and change the costume a bit, you have Thor on Eternia (He-Man’s home planet). But that was nearly ten years ago. Chris Hemsworth is older, wiser, and better equipped to make those tough financial decisions. There is no word yet on if Sony has actually approached Hemsworth but if Richtman is saying it, then expect Sony to at least toss out a feeler.
He-Man and the Master’s of the Universe is a popular property, whether it be the animated series or the Mattel toy line, which makes it very strange that a reboot has not seen the big screen to date. Not that many writers, directors, and producers haven’t tried.
Long before Chris Hemsworth was ever a possibility, John Woo was the first name to pop up as a potential director for a He-Man reboot, following Gary Goddard’s 1987 Dolph Lundgren movie. But that stalled and then Chu was brought in. When things got stale there, it was Jeff Wadlow’s turn and eventually McG.
Conversely, many writers have lent their pen for the possible reboot. There was Evan Daugherty, Terry Rossio, and Christopher Yost. Even Blade trilogy and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy scribe David S. Goyer put together a script for the He-Man reboot. But nothing ever panned out.
Things looked to finally be on track when Sony hired brother directors Aaron and Adam Nee to take on the He-Man duties. They brought in Art Marcum and Marcus Holloway to re-tool Goyer’s script and then, long moved on from talk of Chris Hemsworth, the directors finally found their He-Man in Noah Centineo. The film was even given a March 2021 release date but whether it was the COVID pandemic delays that forced Centineo’s moving on, it’s not known at this present time.
What is known is that Centineo is a busy young man. He is coming off the To All the Boys Netflix trilogy as well as the Netflix originals The Perfect Date and Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Presently he is filming DC’s Black Adam with Dwayne Johnson and he has another Netflix project lined up as well as a spy thriller waiting in the wings. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he is moving on.
As for Chris Hemsworth, he too remains as busy as ever. The 37-year-old has recently been posting his intense workouts as he prepares to take on the life story of WWE Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan. Of course, Hemsworth also returns to the role he made famous in Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. He is also preparing for his shoot down under for the George Miller Mad Max spin-off prequel, Furiosa. Hemsworth is also slated to begin filming his Extraction sequel soon. Lastly, there is a strong rumor that he will return to his role as the hammer-wielding Thunder God in the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
If Chris Hemsworth talked himself out of the He-Man role almost ten years ago, there is a strong chance he hasn’t changed his mind, especially given the fact that he is still playing Thor in the Marvel movies. Never say never though. It is Hollywood we are talking about here and Sony wouldn’t hesitate to pony up if they could get him to play He-Man.
Tell us what you think, GFR’es. Would you like to see Chris Hemsworth play trade in his hammer for a sword or are the characters too similar?
