The new Masters of the Universe film debuted in theaters last weekend, promising to bring He-Man into the 21st century with an updated story that would appeal to more audiences. The story follows Adam (aka He-Man), as he finds the sword he was given as he was thrown from his home world of Eternia. From there, Adam reunites with his people to take down the evil Skeletor, played by Jared Leto.
The goal of Amazon MGM to have a He-Man film that resonates with modern-day audiences appears to have been achieved, at least in some ways. Masters of the Universe currently sits at 67% and 87% with critics and audiences respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, highlighting that those who have seen the film appear to be enjoying it.
On the other hand, Masters of the Universe still appears to be struggling to bring new audiences in. The film grossed $29 million in its opening weekend domestically, well below what a $200 million production budget would need in order to make a profit. That puts a sequel in doubt, which is a huge shame, especially given the success of Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man and Jared Leto’s Skeletor.
The latter’s performance as the film’s main villain is very eccentric, with a deep voice and comedic undertone to everything he does. If Jared Leto’s Skeletor seems familiar, that’s because he is, as the actor recently had a very similar role as another villain in a major studio film: Disney’s Haunted Mansion in 2023.
Jared Leto Had An Almost Identical Role In Haunted Mansion
Jared Leto’s role as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe and the Hat Box Ghost in Haunted Mansion are uncannily similar. For one, Leto’s face isn’t seen in either film (bar a brief look at a portrait in Haunted Mansion). Instead, both characters have a skeleton-like face, with Hat Box meant to be a decaying and decrepit ghost, and Skeletor a character who looks that way in part because he loves being the villain, as he says in the film.
The similarities between Leto’s roles don’t stop there, either. Because Leto’s face isn’t seen in either film, his characters come to life via heavily CGI-created faces. Additionally, Leto does a very similar voice for both. In Haunted Mansion and Masters of the Universe, Leto provides a deep, villainous voice with an English accent, and in both films, his voice is digitally altered in post-production to sound deeper and more menacing.
His Performance Works Much Better In Masters Of The Universe
Jared Leto’s performance in Masters of the Universe is, ultimately, much more successful than his turn in Haunted Mansion. A big reason for this is that Leto is given much more material to work with in Masters of the Universe, as opposed to Haunted Mansion. In the latter, Leto doesn’t begin to factor into the story in any meaningful way until around the halfway mark.
Additionally, with that extra screen time that he has in Masters of the Universe, Leto infuses much more personality and charm in his performance. The Hat Box Ghost in Haunted Mansion is a pretty classic CGI villain in a Disney movie, but Skeletor is a step above that. Leto puts in a performance clearly influenced by Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow, equipped with a sense of comedic timing and unpredictability that makes his character more compelling overall.
Ultimately, Haunted Mansion still works overall, despite a villain with a limited impact. That movie didn’t make enough at the box office to garner a sequel, and Masters of the Universe may meet the same fate, so both films are similar in more ways than one.
- Release Date
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June 5, 2026
- Director
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Travis Knight
- Writers
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Chris Butler
- Producers
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Jason Blumenthal, Robbie Brenner, Steve Tisch, Todd Black
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Nicholas Galitzine
Adam / He-Man
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