Jared Leto’s Skeletor Lands Laughs in Masters

With Masters of the Universe arriving in theaters on June 5, 54-year-old Jared Leto’s Skeletor is emerging as the performance fans can’t afford to skip—delivering scary-camp comedy, pitch-unrecognizable voice work, and scene-stealing chemistry in a 141-minute

When a villain shows up in the middle of a nostalgia wave, people expect a costume. What they rarely expect is the kind of swing Jared Leto brings to Skeletor—moving fast between genuinely scary energy and campy punchlines that land hard enough to pull the room into laughter.

Masters of the Universe is nearly here, and worries about Leto’s presence as Skeletor have already been circulating. Some moviegoers remember past turns and box office misfires—Morbius and Tron: Ares—and point to the actor’s reputation for method acting from Suicide Squad. But after seeing the movie in an early screening, the reaction is different: Skeletor isn’t a weak link. He’s a reason to pay attention.

What’s made the build-up tricky is how limited the information about Masters of the Universe has been so far. Still. one thing has been clear in the lead-up: the trailer introduced the wild character voice Leto uses for Skeletor. and that voice is even better in the movie’s theatrical cut. It doesn’t just sound like a famous villain’s impression—it’s unrecognizable. and the delivery is so specific it keeps turning the tension into comedy throughout the film.

The movie runs 141 minutes, and the laughs are not rare. Even without access to Leto at work during a set visit in the middle of filming. this early look made one thing obvious: his performance anchors the film’s tone. Leto’s Skeletor pivots between frustrated outbursts at the end of his villainous monologues and timing that consistently finds the funny side of the character.

There’s also a standout moment built around a dream sequence opposite Nicholas Galitzine’s Adam Glenn. It plays like a pressure valve—one of the truly hilarious stretches in the film—and it only works because Leto commits fully to the bit while still keeping the character’s edge.

Reviews have already praised the comedy, and Leto is one of the main reasons it sticks. He may not have done press for Masters of the Universe, but the presence he gives Skeletor makes the blockbuster feel finished in a way that matters for a property that lives off bigger-than-life expectations.

The visual side helps too. While the suit is described as practical—something directly seen during the set visit—the CGI is used to animate the He-Man villain’s skeleton face. That blend matters in scenes where the performance needs to carry both menace and humor at once. With Leto’s delivery layered over those effects, Skeletor becomes one of the biggest scene-stealers in the movie.

By the time audiences file into theaters. the debate about whether Jared Leto belongs in Masters of the Universe will finally get its answer. Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5. part of the 2026 movie release list—and moviegoers will get to judge the results at the box office. including whether Travis Knight’s film can kickstart a bona fide movie franchise.

Masters of the Universe Jared Leto Skeletor Travis Knight Nicholas Galitzine Adam Glenn He-Man box office June 5 2026 movie release list