Masters Of The Universe | 2026

The 2006 reboot of Mattel's superhero story is set on the planet of 'Eternia' and in 'Oklahoma', but it was filmed almost entirely in the UK.

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OK, I was pleasantly surprised how enjoyable this rather tongue-in-cheek version turned out, especially after reading that it was a box-office failure.

Unlike the 1987 Masters Of The Universe, which was filmed around Los Angeles, the locations for most of this version can be found in south and southwest England.

The prologue is set in 'Eternia' in the royal palace where Prince Adam is none-too-promising as the warrior he well need to be when as king he will need to protect his kingdom from the likes of Skeletor.

The prince's chamber is, with a little embellishment, the Chapterhouse of Wells Cathedral, Wells in Somerset.

The great pillared chamber of the palace itself is the nave of Wells Cathedral. If you're not familiar with the building, those gigantic – and unique – "scissor" arches might come as a surprise. Yes, the extraordinary construction is real.

The Cathedral was built in the 12th century but in 1313 a tower, which was topped by a lead-covered wooden spire, was added, putting predictably an excessive strain on the foundations.

Cracks began to appear in the tower and the initial attempts at internal strengthening and buttressing proved ineffective until, in the years between 1338-48, a master mason by the name of William Joy came up with this extraordinary radical solution which looks amazingly modern.

When the hordes of Skeletor (Jared Leto) invade, the young prince is bundled off to safety by one of those spinning-wheel portals beloved by the movies to land in 'Oklahoma City', where he begins a new life as the rather nerdy Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine), working in the exciting sphere of Human Resources.

With the production based at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, about 14 miles northwest of central London, the earthbound scenes are filmed in the UK. Adam's apartment building is Foster House on Maxwell Road in Borehamwood – conveniently only a couple of minutes east of the studio.

To the annoyance of his supervisor, Adam is distracted from his work by an (online) quest to find the sword he lost as he fled 'Eternia'. When he eventually discovers it, being used as a prop for a dummy in the 'Fright Zone' comic book store. Stealing the sword triggers an attack from Skeletor's hordes.

There's help when Adam's childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes) turns up in 'Oklahoma City''s business district, it looks an awful lot like London's Canary Wharf, the financial centre built on the city's old Docklands. Beast-Man chases the pair along Upper Bank Street at Canada Square, at the foot of the HBSC tower.

Fortunately, Teela's craft is parked in the centre of the green lawn of Canada Square Park, and the two are soon off back to 'Eternia'.

Back to a tragically destroyed 'Eternia', where the resistance against the rule of Skeletor is literally underground. The entrance is tax to Wookey Hole Caves, a series of limestone caverns, a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, and just two miles northwest of Wells. The River Axe flows through the cave.

The deeper caverns, looking more man-made with square pillars, are Beer Quarry Caves, a man-made limestone underground complex located about a mile west of the village of Beer, Devon, and the main source in England since Roman times for Beer stone.

The tunnels are the result of 2,000 years of quarrying Beer stone, which was ideal for cathedral and church features such as door and window surrounds because of its colour and its ease of workability for carving.

The savage volcanic landscape of 'Eternia' is in Iceland.