I recently saw the new He-Man film ‘Masters of the Universe’ based on the toy range and cartoon series from the 1980s. The trailer had promised high camp and a knowing wink to the cheesiness of the concept. I’m the right age to remember watching the cartoon and playing with the figures, so I’m very much the target demographic. I had certain things I had hoped would appear and I was not disappointed. No spoilers, but be sure to stay for the end credits. The film is wonderfully silly but played with the right level of respect for the fans.
I’d seen a post on Instagram a few weeks before linking to this BBC article which highlighted that some of the scenes had been filmed at Wookey Hole and Wells Cathedral, both in Somerset, England. I hadn’t realised they’d filmed in the UK or gone beyond a soundstage to make the fantasy film.
Wookey Hole Caves are a natural cave system and tourist attraction not far from Wells – I visited it on a trip back in 2021 and wrote about it here as it’s been used a a film locations for decades – notably Doctor Who in the 1970s and the modern era too.
On the same trip I also visited Wells Cathedral as my husband and I were staying in the The Ancient Gatehouse Hotel located across the cathedral green. The UK’s smallest city was a great base to explore the area and we spent several nights there. Wells is famously the location used in Edgar Wright’s brilliant 2007 comedy action film ‘Hot Fuzz’ – which I still have to write a blog about! We had much fun finding all the locations and enjoyed a Cornetto or two.
Wells Cathedral has been used as filming location before – the cathedral’s website has page about productions that’s already out of date here. At the time of our visit we’d known that the cathedral had been used in a Tennant era Doctor Who episode – The Lazarus Experiment.
It’s a beautiful building and what is particularly striking about Wells Cathedral are several distinct and elegant stone arches, which I’ve now learnt are known as scissor arches. They look almost too modern to have been built in the 14th century! Around 1338-40 to be a little more exact.
According to this article filming for ‘Masters of the Universe’ took place from 20th May to the 14th June 2025, with the cathedral completely closing to the public for two days. The cathedral is used as part of the royal palace on Eternia – home of Prince Adam (AKA He-Man). One of the images in the BBC article showed a dramatic fight scene that was clearly taking place in the nave of the cathedral. The scissor arches are visible in the background, a little CGI magic repeats them several times to extend the set. The design of arches seemed to be used elsewhere in the scenes set on Eternia, I like how they incorporated them into the planet’s aesthetic.
Having only seen the film once I’m not sure of how much other areas of the cathedral appear but here are some of the pictures we took while we wandered the building. Strange to see the Covid 19 notices dotted about, memories of a very different time.
If you haven’t seen the new film I’d highly recommend you do – it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s a couple of hours of good fun. Likewise go to Wells if you haven’t been, it’s got plenty for location spotters to check out The Film Buff’s Guide to Wells: Films and TV Shows Shot in England’s Smallest City
For information on visiting times and admission charges follow this link Admission and Opening Times – Wells Cathedral
You can check out other film locations in the Somerset area on the Screen Somerset’s website Screen Somerset
From scene to seen 