Set to release on June 5, people are eagerly awaiting the release of the new live-action movie, Masters of the Universe. However, not many are aware of the intense training and hard work that went into achieving these superhero-ready physiques.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on May 23, Camila Mendes, who plays Teela, shared her opinion on the pre-filming training that co-actor Nicholas Galitzine had to go through.

“When I walked into the gym, I didn’t recognize him," Mendes shared. "He had already changed so much, and he was in the thick of his bulking process, and it was so impressive."

During the UK premiere in London, Galitzine, who plays He-Man in Master of the Universe, had to lift weights throughout the week. Across the week, a cumulative 100,000 kg was lifted.

"I know how challenging the training process was for me, and I know that everything I had to do, he had to do times ten," Mendes recognized the difficulty level of Galitzine's training. "He had to work so many longer hours. I’m so impressed with how he committed to this role and truly transformed into someone unrecognizable.”

She talks about how the crew trained intensely for three months in London, and how excited they were to finally be able to see the results of their hard work. She also mentions how Galitzine possibly trained ‘ten times harder’ than she did to achieve that physique.

Mendes, too, committed significant time and effort to her performance. In fact, she followed an intense superhero-style training program specifically designed to prepare her for the role.

Camila Mendes’ Superhero-Style Training Program

Regular diets and workout routines are not enough to achieve the specific look. In order to achieve the look of Teela, Mendes performed specific weight training and muscle-building exercises that helped her bulk up.

"I've always wanted to have a role that I could train for and be physical and just see what my body is capable of because the motivation to do something to this extent wasn't really there unless there was a character to do it for,” she said to People Magazine during an interview back in 2025.

Moreover, she trained five days a week to ready her physique, focusing on muscle gain along with fat loss.

She also had to take part in several stunt training exercises to prepare for the live-action scenes in the movie. Interestingly, Mendes would also perform dumbbell bicep curls in her costume right before her scenes, in order to get a “pump.”

This is how both Mendes and Galitzine committed themselves to the physical training required to portray their characters on screen.

What do you think about the superhero-style training routine that the cast of Masters of the Universe performed? Drop in the comments.

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Written by

Avantika Das

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar