In July 2023, the streaming platform Netflix, which produced new series of cartoons set in the universe ““Masters of the Universe”, has opted out of a feature film project based on the same franchise. The decision came as a surprise to fans, as Netflix had already spent $30 million on the development of this project. The film was to be created by brothers Aaron and Adam Nee (“The Lost City”), and the role of He-Man was to be played by Kyle Allen (“West Side Story”).
He became interested in the project of creating live-action “Masters of the Universe”. Amazon. The further development of the project was helped by the huge box office success of another film inspired by the cult toy produced by Mattel – “Barbie” directed by Greta Gerwig.
According to Variety, the film “Masters of the Universe” will be directed by Travis Knight (“Kubo and the Two Strings”), and the script will be written by Chris Butler (“ParaNorman”).
The official description of the plot states that the film will tell the story of 10-year-old Prince Adam, whose spaceship crashes on Earth. The boy is separated from the Sword of Power, the only thing that connects him to his home planet Eternia. Two decades later, Prince Adam finally finds his sword. Thanks to it, he is transported back to space to defend his home planet from Skeletor's armies. To defeat him, Adam will have to learn the secret of his past and become the most powerful man in the universe: He-Man.
It has just been announced who will play the role of Prince Adam/He-Man. This is the recently sought-after Nicholas Galitzine.
Galitzine was born in 1994 in London. His parents are connected with the business world. The future star played rugby and football successfully in his youth. However, the injury prevented him from starting a sports career. He never seriously considered acting. After leaving school, some of his friends auditioned for a play at the Edinburgh Festival. A girl Nicholas liked took part in the casting. It was his father who persuaded him to try his hand at it too.
“Funny enough, my dad will never let me forget it, but during the audition I went outside the theater and called out to him: ‘What am I doing here? I'm not an actor, I've never done this before, it's stupid, I should go home. He convinced me that it would at least be a fun, new experience and that I would probably regret it if I didn't do it,” he recalled in an interview with The Last Magazine.
Galitzine got into the team and went to Scotland. Representatives of one of the acting agencies observed the work of the young actors and almost immediately noticed the young Englishman. They offered him a contract and that's how his path to the screens began. After returning to London, he went to a casting for the film “The Beat Beneath My Feet”. “I didn't expect to get it. When they called me back a day later and told me I was going to be the lead in the movie, I felt sick. I had to go for a walk in the park. I remember sitting on the bench and thinking: ‘Oh, now I'm really stuck head over heels in this'”- he admitted years later.
Then everything happened very quickly. First, a role in the series “Legends”, then an award from Screen International, which called him the “Star of Tomorrow”. In 2016, he played the main roles in the films “High Strung” and “Beautiful Bastard”. The second production received five nominations for the Irish Film & Television Awards. Nicholas Galitzine played a teenage rugby player who struggles with his sexual orientation. His next film, “Share”, premiered in 2019 during the Sundance Festival.
In 2019, he moved out of London and set out to conquer Hollywood. There he starred first in the horror film “Witch School: Legacy”, and then in the musical version of “Cinderella”. The handsome Englishman, of course, played the role of a prince, and on screen he partnered with pop star Camila Cabello. In 2022, another breakthrough came in his career thanks to Netflix's “Purple Hearts”.
The American melodrama was one of the streaming giant's most watched films for several weeks. Viewers around the world were moved by Luke's love story’ai Cassie (played by Sofia Carson).
Fans of the production did not care about predictable plots, black and white characters or lack of chemistry between the characters. Although Nicholas Galitzine and Sofia Carson tried their best, the script did not allow them to show their acting skills much. It was as if the creators cared more about their appearance than their talent. However, the popularity of the film means that today the 29-year-old Englishman definitely cannot complain about the lack of activities.
A few months later, Galitzine won the hearts of viewers and Tik Tok with the role of Prince Henry’Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor's ego. In the film “Red, White & Royal Blue”based on the book of the same title, he played a young aristocrat who (despite his initial reluctance) starts an affair with the son of the US president.
In March alone, two productions with Nicholas in the main roles were available for streaming. In the series “Mary and George” he played alongside Julianne Moore. The SkyShowtime production tells the story of the controversial relationship between King James I of England and George’em Villiers (played by Galitzine). Handsome and charismatic, but naive, George is thrown into the middle of his mother's plot against the king. Mary Villiers will stop at nothing to make her son the royal favorite. There are plenty of bold scenes in the series.
There are also plenty of bold scenes in the film “Just Thinking About You”, which was released on Prime Video on March 16. This time, Nicholas Galitzine played 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the singer of the most popular boy band in the world, August Moon. During a meeting with fans, he meets 40-year-old Sophie (Anne Hathaway), who came to the concert with her daughter. A young singer and an unhappy divorcee enter into a fiery romance. The script for the film was based on the book, which became famous when readers noticed Hayes's character resemblance to Harry Potter.’Styles' ego.
“I give my partners access to myself and I hope they give me access to themselves. For example, let's talk about ‘Just thinking about you’. I mean, Annie and I had to do some very bold scenes where we're in bed and there has to be a connection and trust between us. I think if we didn't open up to each other, it would create tension in the scene that wouldn't be useful. Acting is about interpersonal connections. This is literally what it comes down to. And I feel that if you don't have that, if you create barriers between yourself, it will never be as convincing,” the 29-year-old explained.
So far, Nicholas Galitzine has been cast in the roles of princes, romantic main characters and aspiring icons of the LGBT community. However, I don't want to put myself in the box of a movie lover. Recently, in an interview with The NY Times, he stated that he was “moving away from romantic lead roles.” He doesn't hide the fact that he would like to discover other film genres – western or science fiction. His role in “Masters of the Universe” will give him the opportunity to do this.