Written by Actor James Wilkinson appears to be making the media rounds lately, discussing his life changing casting as Mekaneck in the new “Masters of the Universe” movie (currently filming in London.)
This time speaking with BBC Radio, James admitted while hearing of “Masters of the Universe” before, he wasn’t well versed in the property:
JAMES WILKINSON: "I had heard of (Masters of the Universe) but it was before my time. I'm 35 as of Wednesday and it was just that little bit before my time, but my older sister loved it. She told me how much of a huge deal it was when I got it."
So how did James Wilkinson research for his role as Mekaneck? Watch cartoons and eat cereal of course! Per BBC Radio:
In order to familiarise himself with universe of He-Man, Wilkinson said he sat down with a bowl of cereal to watch all the cartoons, which he described as the “easiest research ever“.
JAMES WILKINSON: "It's such a responsibility because you want to make sure the fans are being looked after and represented. At the same time, it has to be fresh and new for new audience members to grasp onto."
The Mekaneck actor also touched upon being on the massive “Masters of the Universe” set:
JAMES WILKINSON: "When you get on set, you see just how grand a scale it is with hundreds and hundreds of people working on this. And I'm just fortunate to be there."
Filming for “Masters of the Universe” is currently underway with the movie scheduled to be released in cinemas worldwide on June 5th, 2026.
We’ll see you next time!
Haha cereal and cartoon watching. I love this guy.
Is there a recent photo of him? Did he shave for the role?
@ninadust you know, I wouldn’t be mad if most of the heroic warriors had a bit of facial hair.
@smitty-81 Who said @ninadust was talking about facial hair?
@gettinhighlander
@smitty-81 I don’t know – that’s exclusively Man-At-Arms/Fisto territory.
@durendal I see your point and for a purist perspective you’re right, but this move is not for purists, nor should it be. I feel that in any modern, live action media sci-fi/ sword and sorcery barbarians should have some facial hair or some stubble at the very least, depending on the story. Judging my some of the set photo of Castle Grayskull, to me, it looks like the heroic warriors are on the ropes, so yeah not always time for a shave when that’s going on.
@smitty-81 It wouldn’t necessarily bother me much if they go that way. I mean even He-Man has been depicted with a full beard (King He-Man Classics figure, New Eternia Battle Armour He-Man figure).