They saved Orko for the end of ‘Masters of the Universe,’ and it was worth the wait

Spoilers for Masters of the Universe follow.

Now that Masters of the Universe has been in theaters for a while, we can finally talk about one of the movie’s biggest surprises.

For most of the film, one of Eternia’s most beloved characters is nowhere to be found. Fans kept waiting for Orko to float onto the screen, but he never did. Instead, Amazon MGM held him back for the post-credit sequence, saving one of the franchise’s most iconic faces for what will hopefully be the beginning of something bigger.

As someone who grew up on the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon, I appreciated the decision. The 1987 live-action film famously replaced Orko with Gwildor, a choice that still stings for a lot of fans, even if that movie has become an enjoyable nostalgic watch over the years. This new adaptation finally gave us a screen-accurate Orko, and he looks exactly like he should.

The tiny Trollan appears as a fully CGI creation, faithfully recreating the floating magician from the Filmation series right down to his oversized hat, glowing eyes, and mischievous personality. Better yet, he’s voiced by Christopher Ragland, whose voice acting credits include anime favorites like My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, One Piece, Dragon Ball Super, Kaiju No. 8, and Solo Leveling. He immediately feels like Orko from the moment he appears.

It’s a smart tease because Orko has always been one of the emotional hearts of the franchise. Yes, he’s comic relief. Yes, his magic almost always backfires. But longtime fans know he’s also capable of incredible courage when it matters most.

We have mixed feelings about the movie itself, but I thought the casting was nearly perfect, and seeing characters like He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, and Skeletor realized with such accuracy genuinely gave me goosebumps more than once. Even so, I found the film itself a little mid. It never quite reached the emotional highs I was hoping for despite nailing so much of the look and mythology.

Unfortunately, the box office may have already sealed the franchise’s fate. Masters of the Universe has grossed roughly $113 million worldwide against a reported production budget of around $170–175 million, making a traditional theatrical sequel look increasingly unlikely.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the journey is over.

Given that this is an Amazon MGM production, a streaming sequel on Prime Video feels like a very real possibility. We’ve already seen Amazon embrace that strategy with other big-budget genre properties, and Masters of the Universe seems like exactly the kind of franchise that could find a much larger audience at home.

If that’s what it takes to get more of Eternia—and finally see Orko unleash all of his magical goofiness alongside the rest of the heroes—sign me up. After waiting nearly 40 years to see him properly brought to life in live action, I’d hate for that delightful little post-credit tease to be the last we ever see of him.

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