Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man film has just cast the tough Teela, and I have a big question
The last few years have been good for fans of the Master of the Universe Franchise thanks to some animated series that can be streamed with a Netflix subscription, and as a nice bonus, some progress has also been made on the long-awaited Master of the Universe reboot movie. After the project was abandoned by Netflix, Amazon snapped it up by MGM Studios, and now Travis Knight is set to direct and Nicholas Galitzine will play He-Man. Today we hear that Camila Mendes will play the badass Teela, although I have one big question about this casting update.
She quickly became famous through her role as Veronica Lodge in the CW series RiverdaleMendes has built up a solid film resume, including Palm Springs, Dangerous lies And Take revengeHer contributions to the 2024 film program include Improved And Musicwhich can both be streamed on Prime Video, and she also produced Griffin in summerwhich premiered at the Tribeca Festival in June but has no major release date yet. With their cast in Master of the UniverseThis is the first time that this upcoming film will feature someone other than He-Man after nearly 20 years in development.
Teela was previously portrayed by Chelsea Field in the 1987 film Master of the Universeand recently she was featured by Kimberly Brooks in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (the CGI animated series), Sarah Michelle Gellar in Masters of the Universe: Revelationand Melissa Benoist in Masters of the Universe: Revolution. The character is traditionally portrayed as the adopted daughter of Man-At-Arms, who becomes captain of the royal guard and teaches Prince Adam, He-Man’s civilian identity, how to fight. She is also frequently portrayed as He-Man’s lover, although in various adaptations she is initially unaware that he and Adam are one and the same person.
This brings me to my question about Camila Mendes’ Teela: What special role will she play in the Master of the Universe reboot? Will she simply remain an ally to Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man? Will she also pursue him romantically? Or will the character be used in a different way? Honestly, I find it hard to believe that Teela will be radically reimagined as a villain working with Skeletor or another antagonist, but that doesn’t mean the film couldn’t change the character in some big ways.
Be that as it may, Master of the Universe offers Mendes the opportunity to star in a big-budget production, which will be new territory for her. According to THR, she screened two weeks ago, as did Clara Rugaard, Alexandra Shipp and Quintessa Swindell. Mendes will also be in the I know what you did last summer Restart.
Master of the Universe will be released in theaters on June 5, 2026, and will certainly be available to stream with an Amazon Prime Video subscription after its theatrical release. Keep an eye on CinemaBlend for further updates on the reboot’s progress.
