Jared Leto’s Skeletor Process for He-Man Movie Sounds Anything but Simple

Jared Leto‘s Skeletor took serious work to bring to life in He-Man’s upcoming movie. Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5. Early reactions to the Amazon MGM production have shifted public opinion dramatically, from skepticism after the first trailers to genuine excitement. Much of that praise is about Leto’s take on Skeletor. And director Travis Knight has now shed light on just how demanding that process was.

Travis Knight discusses Jared Leto’s Skeletor in Masters of the Universe

During a press conference, Knight described Skeletor as one of the most layered villains of the 1980s, not just scary or funny, but all of those things at once.

He said, “I think most villains, at that time, they look cool, or they were scary, or they were funny, or they were intimidating [but] Skeletor was all of those things. And so it was a really interesting combination of flavors” (via CBR).

That complexity made casting and shaping the character both exciting and challenging. The biggest question was whether to honor Alan Oppenheimer’s iconic, comedic nasal voice from the original animated series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, or take the character somewhere darker. Knight and Leto chose the latter, and Knight explained exactly why.

The original voice, as Knight points out, was a deliberate creative decision made for children’s television. Oppenheimer’s Skeletor sounded silly to soften the visual of a skull-faced villain. With that context in mind, simply copying it would have been the wrong move and unfair to the actor’s legacy.

“We did not want it to be him doing an impression of Alan Oppenheimer,” Knight said. “And it was important for him to get the voice right. So there was a lot of exploration to figure out, ‘Okay, what does Skeletor sound like?’ Ultimately, we arrived at this, which I love, because I think it has menace [and] theatricality, which is always a part of Skeletor.”

Beyond the voice, Knight and Leto also dug into the character’s psychology. Skeletor, in this version, is a power-hungry villain driven by deep insecurity. He is someone who constantly craves an audience and feels let down when he doesn’t get the reaction he wants. “[Skeletor] was always putting on a show, and then being disappointed when he didn’t get the response that he wanted,” Knight said. “Ultimately, he’s a very insecure man, and that became a part of his character.”

Now, with Masters of the Universe releasing soon, fans can’t wait to see this on the big screen.

Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net