Lundgren played He-Man in the 1987 live-action film 'Masters of the Universe'

NEED TO KNOW

• Dolph Lundgren attended the Masters of the Universe premiere and reflected on passing the role of He-Man to Nicholas Galitzine

• Lundgren played He-Man in the 1987 live-action film Masters of the Universe
• Now, nearly 40 years later, Galitzine is stepping into the superhero’s shoes for the 2026 remake of the same name

Dolph Lundgren knows when it's time to put down the sword. 

The Rocky IV actor caught up with PEOPLE at the Masters of the Universe premiere in Los Angeles on May 18, sharing what it meant for him to see a new iteration of He-Man come to life. 

Lundgren, 68, says that “passing the sword over” to Nicholas Galitzine was a “great feeling for me.”

“It's great that he's such a great He-Man, and I think it's a great production, and I was really honored to be part of it," the actor says. "It was fun for me to show up in a movie and give him some advice when he needs it the most."

The muscle-bound hero first debuted as a Mattel action figure in 1982 and quickly became a pop culture craze due to the 1983 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Over the years, it has inspired multiple TV adaptations, comics and films.

Now, Galitzine, 31, takes over from Lundgren, who last played the superhero in a live-action 1987 film of the same name, which also starred Frank Langella, Meg Foster, Courteney Cox and Chelsea Field.

Lundgren says it's amazing "to realize that there's still something special about this franchise."

"There's something about what they created back in 1983, I think it was, the series came out, the little cartoon came out and the toys, and there's something about it that people respond to,” he says. 

Lundgren has a cameo role in the new film, but rather than returning to Eternia, he portrays an Earth-bound character. The 2026 film also features Camila Mendes, Jared Leto, Alison Brie and Idris Elba, to name a few.

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In February of this year, Galitzine shared an Instagram post holding a He-Man action figure that was modeled after him. 

"As [a] kid, I played with action figures a lot, and for hours every day I'd conjure up storylines in my head. I kinda think those moments were what birthed my sense of creativity," he wrote.

Sharing photos of himself holding the action figure, Galitzine continued, "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I'd be staring at my own face on one of those figurines, but today's the day. Thank you @mattel and @mastersmovie for making my childhood dream come true."

Masters of the Universe is in theaters June 5.  

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