When you think of Masters of the Universe, a few things instantly come to mind: Skeletor, Castle Grayskull, He-Man’s iconic blonde hairdo. But one aspect of the ’80s toyline that launched an epic saga rises above all the rest in its cultural prominence: The Sword of Power, which gives Prince Adam the ability to transform into the story’s muscle-clad, loin-cloth-wearing hero. It also looks totally badass, with a massive blade and two large handles on either side that give way to a traditional grip at the base. Few swords have their own catchphrase, but this one does.
So when director Travis Knight set out to adapt the franchise into a new movie, he knew he had to nail the Sword of Power (also known as the Power Sword or the Sword of Grayskull in various stories). Thankfully, they nailed it, crafting a design that matches the original while updating it for a modern blockbuster.
“There’s been a few different variations of the Sword of Power over the years,” Knight tells Polygon, “but we went back to the original one and just tried to come up with just a cool modern version of it. And I’m delighted with it. I think it looks awesome.”
“The thing about the Sword of Power,” the director continues, “is it had a very unusual and distinctive design. I remembered it even as a kid. It didn’t look like any other sword that I’d ever seen. So that was actually one of the first things that we designed, me and my production designer Guy Dyas, and it was one of the first things we got almost immediately right.”
Camila Mendes, who plays the warrior goddess Teela, was particularly impressed by one specific detail about the Sword of Power.
“It’s really, really heavy,” Mendes tells Polygon. “I remember the first time I grabbed it, I was trying to joke around, and it’s literally like — your hand falls because it’s so heavy. So you really have to grab it with two hands.”
For Knight, the Sword of Power is just one example of the design ethos that guided his approach to the entire movie. Throughout the production process, if he was ever unsure what to do, he would look to the original toys, cartoon, and the 1987 movie starring Dolph Lundgren.
“Anytime we were at some kind of a crossroads in terms of the designs of the film, be it a costume, the world, or props like the Sword of Power, I would always impress on the team the need to go back to the source,” Knight says. “Go back to the source and look at what was interesting and distinctive about where this thing began and then try to figure out how we could honor that and then come up with a new, interesting, and cool modern cinematic version of those things.”
Looking at the Sword of Power, all we can say is: By the power of Grayskull, mission accomplished.
Masters of the Universe releases June 5, 2026.
