Noah Centineo opens up about losing He-Man role to Nicholas Galitzine

Noah Centineo is opening up about the role of He-Man that he was once set to play in the live-action Masters of the Universe movie.

The 30-year-old actor discussed his experience during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, revealing that he came remarkably close to bringing the iconic character to life before years of delays ultimately led to his departure from the project.

Centineo was officially cast as He-Man in 2019, but he left the project in 2021 after the movie faced production delays and changes behind the scenes.

“We were pretty close, dude,” Centineo said. “I went through the test process. We screen-tested the loincloth and stuff, all of it.”

The actor also revealed that he had signed a contract for the movie and had begun seeing elements of the planned production, including early visualizations, production design and world-building.

However, the project continued to be pushed back as the filmmakers repeatedly tweaked the movie.

“And then, for some reason or another, it just pushed and pushed,” Centineo explained. “I think they just wanted to keep tweaking it and tweaking it and the contract ran out.”

Following Centineo’s exit, the project went through another major change. Netflix acquired the movie and cast Kyle Allen as He-Man in 2022, but that version was eventually canceled. Amazon MGM Studios later took over the project, with Nicholas Galitzine ultimately landing the role in 2024.