The long-awaited live-action return of He-Man arrived in theaters on June 5, 2026 — and it came with a soundtrack as epic as the legend itself. Masters of the Universe (2026), directed by Travis Knight and starring Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, Camila Mendes, Kristen Wiig, Alison Brie, and Morena Baccarin, was released theatrically via Amazon MGM Studios. The film brought one of the most beloved fantasy franchises back to the big screen with a score generating serious buzz — featuring the talents of Daniel Pemberton, Brian May of Queen, and British rock legends The Darkness.
Update: The film underperformed at the box office, grossing around $114 million worldwide against a reported $170 million production budget, with a domestic opening weekend of roughly $29.4 million. Despite the soft theatrical run, Masters of the Universe received largely positive reviews for its cast, action, visual effects, and — especially — its score, and went on to find a much bigger audience after premiering on Prime Video, where it topped the platform’s global movie charts.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Title | Masters of the Universe (2026) |
| Type | Movie |
| Composer | Daniel Pemberton (feat. Brian May & The Darkness) |
| Release Date | June 5, 2026 (theatrical); soundtrack released same day |
| Studio/Platform | Amazon MGM Studios; streaming on Prime Video |
| Where to Stream (Soundtrack) | Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music (Lakeshore Records) |
| Soundtrack Length | 35 tracks, 72:17 total runtime |
| Box Office | ~$114 million worldwide (vs. $170 million budget) |
Soundtrack Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Film Title | Masters of the Universe |
| Director | Travis Knight |
| Production Companies | Amazon MGM Studios, Mattel Studios, Escape Artists |
| Distributor (U.S.) | Amazon MGM Studios |
| Distributor (International) | Sony Pictures Releasing International |
| Film Release Date | June 5, 2026 |
| Composer | Daniel Pemberton |
| Featured Artists | Brian May (Queen), The Darkness |
| Label | Lakeshore Records |
| Soundtrack Release Date | June 5, 2026 |
| Total Tracks | 35 tracks (72:17 total runtime) |
| Format | Digital Album |
Masters of the Universe Soundtrack Overview
The Masters of the Universe original motion picture soundtrack is composed by Daniel Pemberton and released through Lakeshore Records on June 5, 2026 — the same date as the film’s U.S. theatrical debut. The album was announced through a staggered pre-release rollout, with Lakeshore Records dropping the first confirmed tracks ahead of the film’s Hollywood premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on May 18, 2026.
Pemberton himself has described this as the “most maximalist score ever” — a bold creative statement that appears to hold up based on the early pre-release material. The score leans into grand orchestral bombast married with hard rock electricity, making full use of Queen legend Brian May’s signature Red Special guitar and the stadium-rock theatrics of The Darkness. The overall tone is a deliberate throwback to the iconic ’80s science-fantasy aesthetic of the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series, while bringing a modern cinematic scope to the sound. The full album tracklist spans 35 tracks and 72 minutes, and Pemberton recorded the score with a 100-piece choir and 80-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios and AIR Studios.
Who Composed the Masters of the Universe (2026) Soundtrack?
Daniel Pemberton
The Masters of the Universe score was composed by Daniel Pemberton, a British composer and songwriter born on November 3, 1977, in the United Kingdom. Pemberton works across film, television, and video games — and is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive and versatile composers working in Hollywood today.
He first gained major international recognition for his film debut work, with his hybrid choral, orchestral, and electronic score for The Awakening (2011) catching the ear of director Ridley Scott, leading to their collaboration on The Counselor (2013) — a breakthrough score recorded at Abbey Road Studios. His reputation continued to grow through acclaimed works including Steve Jobs (2015), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015), Motherless Brooklyn (2019), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song (co-written with artist Celeste for “Hear My Voice”) and an Ivor Novello Award nomination for Best Original Film Score.
Pemberton earned the title of Discovery of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards 2014 and was named Film Composer of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards 2021, cementing his place at the top of his field.
His most celebrated work remains the Spider-Verse saga — his scores for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) are now considered landmark achievements in animated film music, earning him multiple Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award nominations. Other notable credits include Enola Holmes (2020 & 2022), Being the Ricardos (2021), The Bad Guys (2022), and Project Hail Mary (2025).
Masters of the Universe marks Pemberton’s first large-scale fantasy-action blockbuster of this magnitude, and by all early accounts, he has delivered something extraordinary.
Brian May (Featured Collaborator — “Eternia”)
Brian May, lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Queen, collaborated with Daniel Pemberton on the score track “Eternia” — the first piece of music released from the Masters of the Universe soundtrack, dropped on May 14, 2026. May performs an extended guitar solo on the track using his iconic Red Special guitar, and the result has been widely praised as some of the most epic guitar work of his career in decades. Two versions of “Eternia” were released simultaneously — a standard version and an end credits version, the latter opening with guitar strings before building to a dramatic climax.
The Darkness (Official Theme — “Masters of the Universe”)
British hard rock band The Darkness — frontman Justin Hawkins and guitarist Dan Hawkins — contributed the official theme song for the film, also titled “Masters of the Universe.” The track was written by Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, and Daniel Pemberton, and released via Lakeshore Records on May 21, 2026. The Darkness co-produced and mixed the track alongside Pemberton.
The song is a deliberately bombastic, Queen-influenced retro rocker — drawing clear sonic comparisons to Queen’s iconic Flash Gordon theme — complete with stadium-rock drums, hard-charging guitars, and lyrics built around themes of strength, power, and heroism. It fits perfectly with the ’80s sci-fantasy spirit of the franchise.
Masters of the Universe (2026) Official Tracklist
The complete Masters of the Universe (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released digitally by Lakeshore Records on June 5, 2026, day-and-date with the film. The album contains 35 tracks with a total runtime of 72:17, all composed by Daniel Pemberton except where noted (Brian May co-writes on several cues; The Darkness performs the closing title song; a brief cue interpolates the original 1983 cartoon theme by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban).
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eternia | 3:19 |
| 2 | Young Adam | 3:46 |
| 3 | The Battle for Eternos | 4:07 |
| 4 | You Failed | 0:50 |
| 5 | Skeletor and King Randor | 2:19 |
| 6 | Portal to Earth | 2:22 |
| 7 | Boys Don’t Cry | 1:28 |
| 8 | Comic Store Heist | 2:41 |
| 9 | Freeway Escape | 1:18 |
| 10 | Folding Space (Eternia) | 1:36 |
| 11 | Eternos in Ruins | 1:28 |
| 12 | What’s Left of Us | 1:06 |
| 13 | Prison Break (edit) | 3:46 |
| 14 | Conflict Territory | 2:27 |
| 15 | The Power of Grayskull | 1:54 |
| 16 | He-Man vs Trap-Jaw | 1:49 |
| 17 | Get the Sword | 1:21 |
| 18 | Sky Fight | 5:47 |
| 19 | Mulched | 2:06 |
| 20 | You Are He | 1:14 |
| 21 | See Another Morning | 1:54 |
| 22 | Such Good Friends | 1:35 |
| 23 | Journey to Snake Mountain | 1:34 |
| 24 | Enter Snake Mountain | 1:43 |
| 25 | Fight for Snake Mountain | 3:55 |
| 26 | I Wanted to Protect You | 2:33 |
| 27 | The Universe Shall Quake in My Shadow | 1:30 |
| 28 | Battle Cat and He-Man | 2:23 |
| 29 | The Witch and the Warrior Goddess | 1:27 |
| 30 | Let’s Have a Look | 1:15 |
| 31 | The Sword of Power | 3:34 |
| 32 | Skeletor vs He-Man | 3:32 |
| 33 | Return to Eternia | 3:12 |
| 34 | A Job for He-Man | 1:51 |
| 35 | “Masters of the Universe” (performed by The Darkness) | 3:20 |
Not included on the official album but featured in the film: “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes, “The Man” by The Killers, “The Power” by Snap!, and “Princes of the Universe” by Queen.
Score Highlights
“Eternia” (feat. Brian May)
The flagship score track and the first music released from the film, “Eternia” is a statement of intent. Built entirely around Brian May’s Red Special guitar, the piece opens dramatically and builds to an enormous, layered climax. Daniel Pemberton described it as part of his “most maximalist score ever” — a claim that holds up. Reviewers have noted it channels the grand science-fantasy energy of Mark Mothersbaugh’s Thor: Ragnarok score while being entirely its own thing. The end credits version takes a slightly different approach, opening with delicate guitar strings before exploding into the full-scale arrangement.
“Masters of the Universe” — The Darkness
The official theme song is a full-blooded throwback to the era that gave birth to He-Man. The Darkness deliver stadium-rock power with Queen-influenced vocal theatrics from Justin Hawkins, layered over driving riffs by Dan Hawkins. The track builds to a rousing crescendo, with lyrics evoking power and heroism that are tailor-made for the franchise. Critics have described it as an adrenaline-charged love letter to ’80s bombastic rock — exactly what this film deserves.
Masters of the Universe Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
Beyond Daniel Pemberton’s score, the film features several licensed needle drops that aren’t included on the official soundtrack album: “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes, “The Man” by The Killers, “The Power” by Snap!, and Queen’s own “Princes of the Universe” — the last of which plays over one of the film’s climactic battle sequences, a fitting needle drop given Brian May’s involvement in the score itself.
Daniel Pemberton — Selected Filmography
| Year | Film / Project | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Awakening | Feature film debut |
| 2013 | The Counselor | Directed by Ridley Scott; recorded at Abbey Road |
| 2015 | Steve Jobs | Major studio breakthrough |
| 2015 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | |
| 2018 | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Landmark animated film score |
| 2019 | Motherless Brooklyn | |
| 2020 | The Trial of the Chicago 7 | Academy Award nomination (Best Original Song) |
| 2020 | Enola Holmes | |
| 2021 | Being the Ricardos | World Soundtrack Awards — Film Composer of the Year |
| 2022 | The Bad Guys | |
| 2022 | Enola Holmes 2 | |
| 2023 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Golden Globe & Critics’ Choice nominations |
| 2025 | Project Hail Mary | |
| 2026 | Masters of the Universe |
Where to Listen to the Masters of the Universe (2026) Soundtrack?
The complete Masters of the Universe (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) — all 35 tracks, including both versions of “Eternia” featuring Brian May and The Darkness’s official theme song — is available to stream and download on all major digital music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music via Lakeshore Records. The film itself is available to buy or rent digitally and streams on Prime Video.
Related reading: Read up on the animated prequel series in our Masters of the Universe: Revolution soundtrack guide, browse more movie soundtracks, or see what else is streaming on Prime Video.
Masters of the Universe (2026) Soundtrack — FAQs
Who composed the Masters of the Universe (2026) soundtrack?
The score was composed by Daniel Pemberton, the British Oscar-nominated composer best known for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse. He also co-wrote the closing theme song with The Darkness.
Is Brian May really on the Masters of the Universe soundtrack?
Yes. Brian May, legendary guitarist of Queen, recorded guitar for several cues, most prominently the theme track “Eternia.” May performed on his iconic Red Special guitar, and Pemberton has described the result as some of the most epic guitar work of May’s career in recent decades.
What song did The Darkness record for Masters of the Universe?
British rock band The Darkness recorded the closing title song, also titled “Masters of the Universe,” written by Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, and Daniel Pemberton, released via Lakeshore Records on May 22, 2026.
When was the full Masters of the Universe soundtrack album released?
The complete Masters of the Universe original motion picture soundtrack was released on June 5, 2026 — the same date as the film’s U.S. theatrical debut — featuring 35 tracks and a 72:17 runtime.
What label released the Masters of the Universe (2026) soundtrack?
The soundtrack was released through Lakeshore Records.
Where can I stream the Masters of the Universe (2026) soundtrack?
The full 35-track album is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and other major digital streaming platforms.
How many tracks are on the Masters of the Universe (2026) soundtrack?
The official album contains 35 tracks with a total runtime of 72:17, including two Brian May collaborations (“Eternia” and its “Folding Space” reprise) and The Darkness’s closing theme song.
How did Masters of the Universe (2026) perform at the box office?
The film underperformed theatrically, grossing around $114 million worldwide against a $170 million budget. It received generally positive reviews — especially for its score — and found a much larger audience after its Prime Video premiere.