How Masters of the Universe Sets Up a Sequel with THAT Big Tease

Masters of the Universe, which is in cinemas now, tells of Prince Adam as he finds his way back to Eternia after having fled to Earth as a child.

His return sees him reunited with the Sword of Power, an artefact that enables him to transform into He-Man. As He-Man, Adam can lead the charge to save Eternia against the villainous Skeletor. 

Adam’s return home also sees him reunited with all of the heroes of his childhood, as well as his former mentor, Man-At-Arms, and besties Teela and Cringer. One He-Man ally was missing, however, and if you've not seen the movie yet and would prefer not to know the identity or status of said character in this new iteration, be warned that we're about to head into spoiler territory.

News before the film’s release made it clear to fans that heroine She-Ra was not going to appear in Masters of the Universe, but still confirmed that she does definitely exist within the film universe. It turns out, though, that director Travis Knight was not being 100% honest, as during the movie's mid-credit sequence comes a brief glimpse of the character. 

Masters of the Universe’s She-Ra Cameo, Explained

She-Ra might not feature in the main portion of Masters of the Universe, but Travis Knight couldn’t resist sneaking the character in, opening up endless possibilities for a sequel movie. 

Just after the title card appears, Man-At-Arms and Queen Marlena share a quiet moment as they watch Adam and his friends together. Marlena laments that it took so long for Adam to return, but affirms that ultimately she is just happy he is home. She then goes on to share that if Adam can return after all this time, then there is still hope for ‘her.’ Man-At-Arms agrees as the camera spirals away.

A sword fills the next shot. It looks like He-Man’s but is more svelte and feminine. The wielder of the sword appears to be in a darkened forest, and there’s talk of an imminent battle. The camera widens out, and we see a silhouetted woman dressed in She-Ra’s iconic outfit. As she races towards whatever threat she is facing, the end credits resume, leaving fans happy that she hasn’t been forgotten and should hopefully play a more pivotal part in any future movie. 

Who Is She-Ra And How Does She Fit Into The He-Man Lore?

After the success of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon in the ‘80s, animation studio Filmation realised that it could make more money. The easiest way to do this was to create a female counterpart. The (now outdated) thinking was that He-Man was for boys, so why not make someone for girls? She-Ra, aka Princess Adora, was the result. 

The twin sister of Prince Adam, Adora was kidnapped as a child by one of Skeletor’s former allies, Hordak. Raised under his tutelage, the first few episodes of Netflix's recent She-Ra and the Princess of Power saw Adora meet and fight with Adam in her homeland of Etheria. Soon, the two discovered the truth of their connection, and Adora turned her back on the evil Hordak and began her quest to save the people she had unknowingly helped to enslave. The villain-to-hero arc is a familiar trope in children’s entertainment, and soon after She-Ra, the plot device would be used again to introduce the sixth Power Ranger, Tommy, in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

Filmation was so keen to make She-Ra the female version of He-Man that the two cartoons were near perfect mirrors of one another. The format of the opening sequence is the same, just with characters swapped out. Adora’s narration shares that she is He-Man’s twin sister who lives on Etheria (rather than Eternia). She goes on to explain that her sword is the Sword of Protection, and her magic words are “for the honour of Grayskull.” Her ensemble is slightly zanier than Prince Adam’s, but she has her own variants of the Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, and Teela. She also has not one, but two, animal companions. The first is Cringer proxy Spirit - a majestic white horse that transforms into a one-horned pegasus - the second, a comedy cartoon owl with oversized ears/wings, Kowl. Finally, her nemesis, Hordak, is cookie-cutter Skeletor and even comes with his own version of Evil-Lyn, Shadow Weaver. 

How She-Ra Could Be Worked Into A Masters of the Universe Sequel, and Who Should Play Her?

If Travis Knight is trying to figure out a way to bring She-Ra into Masters of the Universe, the simplest way would be to have Hordak make a play for Eternia. Having tried and failed alongside Skeletor, with his frenemy now seemingly out of the way, Eternia would need a new supervillain. She-Ra can then follow him through the portal and have to turn to He-Man for help. Knight’s version of Masters of the Universe wasn’t afraid of a deep and meaningful scene, and the discovery that he has a long-lost twin sister would provide Adam with plenty more opportunity to get in touch with his emotions. 

Another slightly trickier angle would be to rework those opening episodes of the She-Ra cartoon. The issue with that approach, however, is that she already has the Sword of Protection in the mid-credits scene. Still, Adam and co could be sent to investigate a distress signal on Etheria, and the two could meet that way. Whatever happens, we just hope that it does happen, as She-Ra was one badass role model for a generation of young women. 

The casting of She-Ra also poses some interesting ideas. Although the character is present during the mid-credits, she is deliberately obscured, meaning that the part is not yet cast and options are being kept open. The tease is very similar to that in Mortal Kombat, where a poster of Johnny Cage was shown, but the star's face was obscured as the franchise had not acquired Karl Urban at that point.

Names we can imagine being in the ring are Sydney Sweeney and Anya Taylor-Joy, though given Sweeney’s Euphoria role, she is perhaps not viewed as family-friendly enough. In contrast, Taylor-Joy has familiarity with action in Furiosa and The Northman, and has voiced Princess Peach across the two animated Super Mario movies  

Some more off-kilter choices would be McKenna Grace - she’s in everything else, so why not this? - Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink, or, our personal favourite, Lili Reinhart. Masters of the Universe already has one Riverdale alumni in the form of Camila Mendes, who plays Teela, and fans would love to see the two reunited on screen. Plus, Reinhart was at the Los Angeles premiere of Masters of the Universe. She was likely present to support Mendes, but you never know…