RiverdalestarCamila Mendeshas shared her reaction to being cast as Teela in the upcomingMasters of the Universemovie. Directed by Travis Knight, best known for directingKubo and the Two StringsandBumblebee,Masters of the Universeis a reimaging of the popular 1980s toyline of the same name that spawned several animated shows, and a cult-favorite live-action movie in 1987.News of Mendes’s casting as Teela brokeearlier in the week, announcing that she will star alongside Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man.
Shortly after the casting news broke, Mendes took to herInstagramto share her excitement about joiningMasters of the Universe. In the post that screenshotsDeadline’s film report, Mendes thanked director Travis Knight andMasters of the Universetoy company Mattel for believing in her. She is"excited to get yolked"and"can’t believe this is real,“with a final caption,“Let’s go to Eternia!!!”. At the time of this writing, the post has over 129,000 likes, including from herRiverdaleco-stars Lili Reinhart and Madelaine Petsch, who played Betty Cooper and Cheryl Blossom, respectively.
Mendes is a Rising Star
Since Mendes broke out in 2016 playing Veronica Lodge onRiverdale, she has added a number of high profile roles to her CV. Likely due to the commitments of The CW television series, Mendes largely avoided big franchise movies and instead opted for smaller-scale movies for streaming platforms so much that inour review ofUpgraded, we dubbed her the Queen of Streaming movies. In 2020, she had a starring role in the Netflix psychological thrillerDangerous Liesand the Hulu critically acclaimed sci-fi romantic comedyPalm Springs. She followed that up with the Netflix dark comedyDo Revengealongside Maya Hawke.
2024 has been a great year for Mendes as she starred in two well-received romantic comedies that premiered on Prime Video,Upgraded, which was released on February 9th, withMúsicadebuting on April 4th. She also acted as an executive producer on both movies, leading to her co-founding her own production company, Honor Role, alongsideHappy Death Daystar Rachel Matthews. Acting as a producer, Mendes has been able to develop projects she is interested in, taking a more active role in shaping her career.
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WithMasters of the Universe, Mendes is now stepping up into a potentially career-changing role. Amazon MGM Studios is developing the film withthe intention of a theatrical release in 2026. Having been in development hell for years and swapped hands from one studio to the next several times, there is a lot of expectation for the movie to deliver fans a movie that captures the feel of the original franchise. Galitzine and Mendez have strong social media followings, and that could end up bringing a whole new generation to the fantasy saga.
Coincidentally, Galitzine and Mendes are almost exactly the same age as Dolph Lundgren and his co-star Chelsea Field were when playing the respective roles of He-Man and Teela in the originalMasters of the Universe.
