“Masters of the Universe” Casts Alison Brie as Villain Evil-Lyn in Amazon MGM’s He-Man Movie

Alison Brie is ready to get evil with a capital E.

The Hollywood Reporter scoops that Brie has been cast in Travis Knight’s Masters of the Universe, Amazon MGM’s live-action adaptation of Mattel’s He-Man toy brand, which became ubiquitous in the 1980s. Brie joins The Idea of You star Nicholas Galitzine, who plays He-Man, and Camila Mendes, who plays Teela, captain of the royal guard.

Knight, the founder of the stop-motion studio Laika and the director behind its brilliant Kubo and the Two Strings and Paramount’s Transformers spinoff Bumblebee will finally bring Masters of the Universe to the screen after two decades of development. There’s no word yet on what Masters of the Universe will center on, but the basis for the adaptation is the story of Prince Adam of Eternia, the young man who becomes the impossibly buff, superheroic He-Man through the magic of his Power-Sword. He-Man and his equally tough pals defend the defenseless against the likes of Skeletor (one of the great villains from the 80s) and his minions. Brie’s Evil-Lyn is Skeletor’s most important ally, his number two imbued with the power of the dark arts.

There was a 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe, directed by Gary Goddard and starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man, Frank Langella as Skeletor, and Meg Foster as Evil-Lyn. Before that, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was one of the most popular cartoons on TV, running for two seasons of 65 episodes each, spawning the film He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, which then spawned the spinoff series She-Ra: Princess of Power.

Brie will bring years of deft character work to the role of Evil-Lyn, her first foray into a big-budget fantasy film. She was stellar in Netflix’s Glow, NBC’s Community, and AMC’s TV’s golden-era-defining Mad Men.

Now she’ll be in an entirely different kind of dramatic universe. Masters of the Universe is slated for a June 5, 2026 release.

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Featured image: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 23: Alison Brie attends the NBC USG Emmy Kick-Off Luncheon at Casa Madera on April 23, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)

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The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.