Masters of the Universe brought many iconic and beloved characters back into theaters this summer. Directed by Travis Knight (Bumblebee), Masters of the Universe sees the exiled prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) return to his home planet of Eternia to save his people from the evil wizard Skeletor (Jared Leto).
As the franchise’s first live-action film since 1987’s Masters of the Universe, this remake spent several years in development. After going through multiple directors and production companies, Masters of the Universe finally hit cinemas in June 2026.
In an interview with Digital Trends, actor Sam C. Wilson broke down his history with the Masters of the Universe franchise, his role as the villain Trap-Jaw, and how the film’s stunning visuals and fight scenes were developed.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Digital Trends: How did it feel to star in the He-Man movie? Were you a big He-Man fan growing up?
Wilson: I was a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy. He-Man, and comic books, but I kind of like He-Man had like almost just passed me by because I was born in 1990. So He-Man was on TV, but it was more of a legacy cartoon…All those like cartoons are like heavy metals, stuff like that.
When we eventually got cable, when I was about seven years old in the UK, we have the four channels. And so on those four channels, they would basically be whatever the kind of main American export was at the time. So our Saturday morning cartoons then were like X-Men, Power Rangers, and things like that. Then it would be He-Man, Thundercats, stuff like that.
Digital Trends: Awesome. Now, I’ve seen that you’ve had a lot of other acting roles before you became Trap-Jaw in the Masters of the Universe film. How does it feel to portray Trap-Jaw? Does it feel different from your past roles?
Wilson: Yeah, it is because it’s kind of like you have to, with creature acting, you have to basically make the choice of like, um, it’s a villain. So with a villain, you’re like, “How seriously does this person take themselves? Is it even a person? Is he a creature? What kind of noises does he make?”
I was kind of playing him a bit like Caesar from Planet of the Apes. I looked at a lot of Andy Serkis’ work and how he carried himself to kind of think about how Trap-Jaw would walk. And those trousers that I had on were so heavy that, actually, there was no acting required. It kind of looked like I was having to drudge these metal legs around because I kind of was.
And then you have to sort of relearn how to articulate your face a little bit with the prosthetics on. And then you decide on a voice and all those bits, bit by bit. If I were to get you to walk around a room now and to adopt a new voice and to hold your face differently and hold your body differently, in not very long at all, you’d start to feel like someone very different.
Now, in the beginning, I was gonna play him always more comedic, based on the voice of Rex Kwon Do from Napoleon Dynamite. Like a gym bro who takes himself seriously. Like a bit of a doofus.
And then, as I put the thing, I thought, “No, he’s less of a doofus. This guy’s actually really scary.” But I kept him American and worked obviously with Travis because obviously, as they say here, “He who pays the piper picks the tune.” So you obviously got to do it how the directors want it.
Digital Trends: So what was it like collaborating with Travis Knight on this?
Wilson: Travis Knight, he’s really clear. He knows exactly what he wants, which is really, really nice, particularly when there’s like room for a lot of confusion. Because the costume’s so…heavy duty, and there’s so much going on. But actually, a director just being really clear with you about what it is they want, and what it is they don’t want is great. Travis has also got a really nice sense of humor. He’s always calm. He’s just a really nice guy, to be honest.
Digital Trends: Tell us more about your costume. How much of it was practical and how much of it was CGI?
Wilson: I’ll start with what was CGI. [There] was a shoulder piece. And then, if I had the blaster…the blaster was almost like a bucket. Whatever the end fixture was, it was built by the amazing props department. They built them. And then the hook, I would hold it, and that hook in the movie, that is a hook. It was not jazzed up in post-production. That hook was like metallic. And then the knife—similar story.
And then when they maneuvered and changed, that would be CG-ed, obviously. Everything else, practical. Apart from the one moment where my jaw comes down and you see wires on the inside of my mouth, I was painted vantblack, that kind of black that absorbs light. So it’s like really blacked out. I swelled black dye around my mouth and had a black gum shield in.
Digital Trends: So, on top of the creature design for your character, the most memorable parts about [him were] your fight scenes with Adam and Duncan in the film. Can you tell us what it was like taking on all those characters?
Wilson: So there’s Nick, who plays Adam, Nicholas, who is just like the sweetest person ever. But me and him, we were like training together before we started and stuff. And we went to the gym together, and we did like stunt training together, and we got to know each other pretty well, and he’s like [a] really sweet, lovely dude. So we knew each other quite well.
Whereas Idris, although his character is not necessarily as big as He-Man…he’s Idris Elba. So I had more cause to be nervous. But really, I was blown away by just how lovely he was. I’ve been rehearsing for months to do these stunts and like endlessly rehearsing these fights, and Idris turns up a couple of days before and then even on the day, he goes, “What are we doing there?” And then he just does it, and he makes it look like he’s like Man-At-Arms.
Digital Trends: So going back to what you said about stuntwork. You did all your own stunts in that film, right?
Wilson: Well, no is the answer…Every bit where I’m getting like completely eradicated to the point where I wouldn’t be able to see the next take. That’s my long-suffering stunt level miles. Miles Lee.
But Miles was there on the side. Mainly, the main job of the stunt guys is to choreograph this stuff. Make it amazing. Film it to make it look amazing on their cameras, show you the final result, and then train and train and train you.
So the main objective is that you do most [of] your own. So all the fighting, all the hand-to-hand, all of that is me and Idris and me and Adam…for the most part, yes, that’s us.
Digital Trends: Overall, what are your thoughts on the Masters of the Universe movie?
Wilson: I think that it is amazing fun. It’s like a Saturday morning cartoon come to life.
I feel really proud of what we as a team delivered. I mean, I’m a part of it, but, ultimately, a small part of it. So many amazingly talented people were involved, and I think that it’s a fantastic movie. I was screaming and whooping and hollering in the cinema.
It’s to be enjoyed on a big screen, and it’s to be cheered to…[The film] doesn’t take itself too seriously, but all the characters are like 100% committed. No one’s embarrassed. And that’s where the comedic moments lie, that the characters in that world properly believe what they’re doing, and sometimes I think that can be really funny.
Digital Trends: Yeah, I really got that vibe from watching the movie, like, and I could tell from your performance in the film that you really gave it your all, like. I felt like you really gave a memorable presence for a character with maybe like a few minutes of screen time total.
Wilson: Yeah, I put a lot of time and thought and effort into it, so I’m glad that that came across.
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