He-Man's Original Live-Action Movie Teased A Sequel That Never Happened

Nicholas Galitzine might be the next star to prove he has the power of He-Man, but die-hard fans of "Masters of the Universe" will always remember that he wasn't the first one to wield the Power Sword in a live-action movie. Before the likes of "Hijack" star Idris Elba and Jared Leto visited Eternia, Dolph Lundgren, having recently broken Apollo Creed in "Rocky IV" as Ivan Drago, became the most powerful man in the universe in Gary Goddard's movie, which saw He-Man take the fight from Eternia to Earth. It was there that he crossed paths with a young Courteney Cox and fought to protect her from Skeletor played by Frank Langella, who looked more like a melting candle than a ticked-off skeleton warlord.

The movie was a box-office bomb, earning $17.3 million on a $22 million budget, and was torn apart by critics. Variety called it a "Conan-Star Wars hybrid ripoff," which wouldn't have been as much of a problem had plans not been in place to turn it into a franchise. In fact, there weren't just talks of a sequel; the movie itself had a post-credits scene that teased a follow-up we never got, showing Skeletor stealing a line from none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Even after stealing the power of Eternia and getting a gold-plated upgrade for his troubles, Skeletor was no match for the power of He-Man in the "Masters of the Universe" from 1987, seemingly meeting his doom after falling into a pit. From there, the day was saved, good had triumphed over evil, and Courteney Cox traveled back in time, stopping her parents from dying in a plane crash (yeah, it sounds bonkers written down, doesn't it?). However, in a post-credits scene, Skeletor pokes his head out of a pool of water, proclaiming, "I'll be back." Well, that was the plan, at least.

The Cannon Group wasn't just teasing the idea of a sequel either — the project was well into development. Sets had been built and costumes had been designed for a follow-up that would see Skeletor turn Earth into a dark sci-fi movie universe and He-Man forced to return and put things right. Unfortunately, following the film's poor reception and a decline in sales of Mattel's flagship toy line, all key parties exited, including Dolph Lundgren himself, leaving Cannon in trouble. According to Goddard, "Mattel saw the script, or perhaps the storyboards, and pulled the license" (via MOTUmovie.com). As a result, Cannon redirected everything that had been made for the doomed sequel to a brand-new film starring a future co-star of Lundgren's, Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Dolph Lundgren wasn't the only star trying to elbow his way into the '80s era of action heroes. While he was swinging his sword and wishing people a "good journey," Jean-Claude Van Damme was slowly appearing on Hollywood's radar following the success of "Bloodsport" and after being a wasted alien hunter in "Predator."  He was the perfect replacement hero for Cannon's completely new film, "Cyborg." Released in 1989, JCVD, as he is otherwise known, played Gibson Rickenbacker, a mercenary in a post-apocalyptic future who fought against a gang of bandits.

While it didn't quite have the same power as He-Man, the movie became a cult classic in its own right, accomplishing what "Masters of the Universe" couldn't and spawning a trilogy. By the early '90s, both stars had carved out a decent place in the action genre, leading Van Damme and Lundgren to face off in the sci-fi action movie "Universal Soldier," which became a franchise of its own, too.

Flash forward to now, though, and the new iteration of "Masters of the Universe" has received a very different response. Initial reactions have praised not only Galitzine's He-Man, but Jared Leto's take on Skeletor, as well. Who knows? Maybe this time, if Skeletor promises to be back, he actually might stay true to his word.