Hollywood’s long-planned Masters of the Universe movie is heading toward its 2026 release date, but it may have to share the spotlight more than expected. Dark Horse Comics has confirmed that its current miniseries, Masters of the Universe: The Sword of Flaws, will expand into a full monthly title beginning next spring—giving He-Man a major presence in the lead-up to the film and offering fans a steadier stream of new stories than a single theatrical release can provide.
The ongoing series will officially launch with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5 on March 25, 2026, immediately following the conclusion of The Sword of Flaws arc. Writer Tim Seeley is staying on as the creative lead, while the book transitions to a new art team that includes Reilly Brown, colorist Jim Charalampadis, and letterer AndWorld Design. Dark Horse is framing this shift as the start of a longer-term publishing plan for the franchise rather than a limited experiment, hinting at more structured world-building ahead.
The expansion makes sense given the groundwork Seeley’s miniseries has laid. The Sword of Flaws introduced a corrupted weapon forged by He-Ro as a counterpart to the Sword of Power, enriching the mythology surrounding Eternia’s legendary artifacts. Its rediscovery by Skeletor—and the resulting surge in his power—sets off a chain of events that naturally leads to the next arc, The Battle of Snake Mountain. Issue #4, arriving in February, will close out the current storyline and position the new ongoing series to pick up immediately where the miniseries leaves off.
Importantly, the comic’s expanded scope won’t overlap with the continuity of Travis Knight’s upcoming Masters of the Universe film. Despite arriving in the same year, Dark Horse’s series and the movie remain entirely separate projects, each charting its own version of Eternia. That may be for the best: it allows the comic to build on decades of lore without needing to align with a new cinematic interpretation, and it frees the film to reach broader audiences without being tied to ongoing publication cycles.
Releasing the comic in March and the movie in June puts 2026 on track to be unusually busy for Masters of the Universefans. A new ongoing title and a feature film arriving within months of each other signal a franchise revival after years of sporadic projects. If both perform well, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more adaptations—animated, live-action or otherwise—move into development.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5 arrives March 25, 2026, giving readers an early head start on what could become one of the franchise’s most active years in recent memory.
