How The Canceled 'He-Man' Sequel Accidentally Became A Jean-Claude Van Damme Movie
Masters of the Universe (2026) reboots the Masters of the Universe franchise and marks the first live-action movie since the 1987 film of the same name. However, there was once a time when the original movie, with Dolph Lundgren in the lead role of He-Man, was supposed to have a sequel. The original Masters of the Universe was shot on a tight budget, resulting in much of the storyline occurring on Earth, where two teenagers cross paths with He-Man during his search for a Cosmic Key to save his home planet, Eternia.
Between its low budget, campy humor, and a fantastic performance from Frank Langella as Skeletor, Masters of the Universe has all the ingredients of a cult classic. If you’re one of the fans who looks back fondly on the delightfully weird original movie, you may be surprised to find out what became of the planned He-Man sequel and how it involved Jean-Claude Van Damme.
The Jean-Claude Van Damme Movie That Rose From He-Man’s Collapse
As the documentary Powers of the Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2017) delves into, the Masters of the Universe sequel never came to fruition, but the film’s collapse unexpectedly led to another film: Cyborg (1989). The 1989 martial arts cyberpunk film propelled Van Damme into further prominence after his breakthrough in Bloodsport (1988). Van Damme shines as the pirate-fighting mercenary Gibson Rickenbacker in a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of the Mad Max (1979) universe. Although critics weren’t too impressed with the gory, brutal, post-apocalyptic world, viewers showed up in droves to watch Van Damme’s dazzling martial arts skills. It’s an action-packed, entertaining flick that flourished at the box office and secured two sequels.
However, the wildest fact about the movie is that it was, indeed, originally conceived as a sequel to Masters of the Universe. Masters of the Universe and Cyborg share a distributor and producer in The Cannon Group. In 1987, The Cannon Group was preparing for Masters of the Universe 2 and a live-action Spider-Man adaptation, but it was struggling behind the scenes. At the time, Masters of the Universe was the fourth in a string of high-profile box office flops for the company. In 1988, the company disclosed a staggering $98.3 million net loss for 1987.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) was one of the other significant box office flops for Cannon Group. So Cannon Group was bleeding financially and planning two movies for franchises that backfired badly. As a result, the company ultimately scrapped both Masters of the Universe 2 and the Spider-Man movie rather than pay the licensing fees to Mattel and Marvel Entertainment. By then, though, the company had already spent $2 million on costumes and sets for the films. Instead of letting it go to waste, the studio reworked the scrapped films into Van Damme’s Cyborg.
How ‘Masters of the Universe 2’ Turned Into ‘Cyborg'
When Cannon Group was planning its Masters of the Universe sequel and Spider-Man, it tapped Albert Pyun to direct both films. The two films were going to be shot simultaneously, and the sets and costumes were ready to go. When Cannon Group canceled its licenses with Mattel and Marvel, it had sets, costumes, and a director prepared for two feature films. Rather than letting it all go to waste, the company let Pyun rework the scraps into his own movie. From the ashes of Masters of the Universe 2 and Spider-Man, he came up with Cyborg, writing the script in a single weekend.
Cyborg was shot almost as quickly as it was conceived, wrapping filming in just 23 days on a $500,000 budget. The film reused a lot more from the scrapped Masters of the Universe 2 than you might realize. The sequel was set to look quite different from the original, including replacing Landgren with surfer Laird Hamilton after Landgren refused to return. However, Pyun’s script also changed the setting from the ‘80s California to a post-apocalyptic world. In the planned sequel, Skeletor transformed Earth into a desolate wasteland, much like the world of Cyborg.
When watching Cyborg, you can actually spot some of the costumes and props intended for the Masters of the Universe sequel. A lot of Blade’s (Anthony De Longis) gear from Masters of the Universe, such as his chainmail shirt, wrist guards, and harness, was reused for villains’ costumes in Cyborg. Guns, daggers, and Eternia trooper armor were also repurposed into props and costumes for Cyborg. Cyborg is mostly a post-apocalyptic movie, but the repurposed fantasy/sci-fi elements of Masters of the Universe add that subtle touch of cyberpunk.
Where To Watch The Cult Movies In This Bizarre Tale
You can watch the original Masters of the Universe on FuboTV, Philo, or MGM+ for a good dose of nostalgia. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in what is surprisingly the closest thing you can get to a Masters of the Universe sequel, Cyborg is also available to stream on FuboTV or MGM+.
