Written by (Editorial)
AJ here. Let’s first address the elephant in the room. Jared Leto was excellent in the New “Masters of the Universe” Movie.
In our first reaction (posted here) we believed Jared Leto may have stole the entire movie with his fantastic performance as Skeletor. It was that good.
I personally had a lot of faith in the beginning that. Jared Leto would be a terrific fit for the Evil Lord of Destruction, mentioning it back in October 2025 during our Eternia Four fancasting episode….
…as well as suggesting Leto’s casting was fate.
So, you can imagine my excitement that after spending a week mostly in Los Angeles attending the “Masters of the Universe” World Premiere plus various Press Events (thank you Amazon MGM and Mattel) and then finishing the week with the amazing MOTUniverse event…
…that when I waited in line to board a plane this past Monday from Los Angeles to Newark, it felt like fate when Skeletor actor Jared Leto appeared, briskly walking past me with a small entourage through the premiere line to the first class seating.
Was Jared Leto flying to Newark Liberty International Airport to get to New York City (a mere 12 miles away?) Perhaps it was a planned layover flight for Europe for his Thirty Seconds to Mars tour? Whatever the reason, I marveled it was quite a way to punctuate a “Masters of the Universe” Movie themed trip with a flight home with Skeletor himself!
After we landed, sitting in the rear economy section of the plane, I was the last to exit. So you can imagine my pleasant surprise to still find Jared Leto in a blue tracksuit, cap and sunglasses, stretching his legs in a premiere car pickup area, standing outside of a black escalade seemingly waiting for others to retrieve his checked baggage. I took a photo, and then decided to approach him.
Feeling it would be rude to take photos or film him at this point, I put my phone in my pocket hoping I could ask Jared’s permission to take a photo together afterwards. But as we stood face to face and knowing it was 100% Jared Leto, to be polite, I still asked…
AJ: Excuse me, are you Jared Leto?
LETO: (long pause) Yeah
AJ: So nice to meet you! I was at the Masters of the Universe premiere!
Pointed to my Masters of the Universe shirt under my blazer
AJ: You were awesome! You killed it as Skeletor. you stole the show. I wish you were there!
Jared starts walking to his Escalade.
JARED: Thanks
Jared gets into the vehicle and as he closes the door…
JARED: Thanks man.
Door closes. That was it. His luggage arrived a few minutes afterwards, was loaded into the back of the truck, and then off they drove.
I wish there was a better story to tell here. I wish I could have briefly asked him about his personal MOTU fandom…. the adult thrill of returning to this fantastic world he loved as a child and to play the iconic Skeletor… have a chance to tell him how important this movie and the Skeletor character is to the fans. What a treat that could have been for the community to read, and perhaps for even Leto to tell. But none of that ever happened.
Perhaps he was having a bad day. Leto wasn’t at the world premiere, perhaps he couldn’t talk about the movie at all… and he did say thanks.
Still, whatever the reason, what I was left with at least felt like Skeletor’s cold shoulder… and a bummer of a moment to cap this whole “Masters of the Universe” Movie Hollywood adventure that I wasn’t sure to report on at all.
But alas, that cold shoulder still belonged to Skeletor, and we love Skeletor. 🙂
Secure your tickets today for the awesome new “Masters of the Universe” Movie ON SALE NOW and coming only to cinemas on June 5th!
We’ll see you next time!
AJ, it’s entirely possible that he’s contractually prohibited from talking about the movie at this stage. I thought he was paid by Amazon upwards of $5MM to stay silent.
That said, this twist of fate is just… Such an amazing story that you were in such close vicinity so many times.
Good journey.
I can’t speak to its validity but I did read in a few publications that Jared Leto earned a 5 Million Dollar Salary for the Skeletor role (but this is the first I heard of additional monies paid.) Either way, an amazing story is a great way to look at this. 😊
Then he walked through a mirror and busted it behind him
Now that would be an ending!
Leto is probably dealing with a gag order. Don’t take it personally.
Great read. I like reading the personal stuff once in a while.
Wow you met the lord of destruction himself!
Honestly it doesn’t so much like a cold shoulder. His ride was there and likely had places and appointments to be but the fact he thanked you again for the compliment before leaving says more honestly that it seemed more a positive encounter. Then again I wasn’t there so perhaps the attitude felt different. lol
One hand it sucks the main villain can’t express how it felt playing the role or why they took it and be part of the press world tour. And on the other hand, we all know why he’s not part of it.
At least you got to say hi!
Jared’s car sat there for a good 5-7 additional minutes in front of me before his baggage came (I had to order my own Uber to come pick me up) but it is a nice sentiment… and true! At least I did get to say hi and compliment his performance! 😊
This is cool, I would love to meet him as I am a Thirty Seconds to Mars fan. But I hope there is no drama between him and the makers of the movie.
Did he call you a flea bitten fur bag because I would have been ok with that.
I own a pair of those pants. 😆
I think it’s a pretty cool story. He might have been tired.
Also he’s Skeletor, the Lord of Destruction. At least he didn’t smite you!
(The gag order seems another reasonable reason. There’s reasons he wasn’t at the premiere or at events etc)
Cold shoulder and a reluctant thank you? Dude; you have a Tsundere Skeletor! 🤭