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 arrives on Prime Video July 22nd, 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.