Teela has been a staple in every iteration of Masters of the Universe. Without Teela, there is no He-Man. That’s as true today as it ever has been. Her true heritage and how it ties into the grander mythology of Masters of the Universe is essential to the storylines, and how Adam learns to fight and become a mighty warrior is tied to her combat training as the captain of the guards. So the film needed an actress who could be as graceful, resilient, and powerful as the history of the character has demanded. Which is exactly what made star, Camila Mendes perfect for the role!
Mendes, who catapulted into the stratosphere as Veronica from Riverdale, established her career playing tough, ruthless characters with a supernatural slant. So playing Teela was not a all a stretch for her. Having a Brazilian actress portray the character, much like her co-star Morena Baccarin playing The Sorceress, was also an inspired bit of POC casting. As Teela, she brings a perfect blend of toughness, humor, and responsibility to the role, perfectly matching the various iterations of the character through the different generations of the Masters of the Universe series.
As such, it was a tremendous honor to be able to speak to her during a special Masters of the Universe event at CinemaCon earlier this year. Here’s what she had to say about taking on the role of Teela.
NOC: Hi Cami! They say behind every great man is an even greater woman, and that is Teela in a nutshell. Can you talk about the importance of really bringing her to life — the representation here from a female hero standpoint — and why, let’s be honest, He-Man is nothing without Teela?
MENDES: Yeah, I’m very happy you said that. One of my favorite themes in the film is this theme of masculinity — how it can be bad, how it can be good. I feel like Teela is just as affected by that theme as everybody else. I think she’s a woman who’s had to really toughen up. She’s created this tough exterior to survive in this hyper-masculine world that is Eternia. We get to see how that helps her and how that hurts her. Adam’s coming from what’s now considered a very feminine world, which is Earth, and this new kind of masculinity. I feel like Teela has a lot to learn from that. The thing I really connected to throughout this was exploring how toxic masculinity gets absorbed by a woman. Not just how it affects them, but how it can become them sometimes. Not to say that Teela has toxic masculinity, but I think she has this inner masculinity that drives her.
When you have a phallocentric society that’s so commandeered by toxic masculinity — putting those people in power, the patriarchy in a way — it affects everyone. It doesn’t give heroes a chance to really show themselves and prove that they have a lot more power than just the expected heroes.”
Exactly. Power isn’t just about aggression and strength.
That’s one of the things I love. Between Barbie and now Masters of the Universe, Mattel’s really tearing down gender roles and questioning that [aspect of society today]. How do you feel about that?
I’m so grateful for it, because if we’re going to bring back these iconic franchises, we have to say something with them and relate them to the world today. I think Masters of the Universe, and Travis exploring those themes of masculinity in this film, is doing exactly that.
You couldn’t ask for a better filmmaker to explore deeper themes than Travis Knight, the guy behind Kubo, right?
Exactly.
Did you get a chance to see Masters of the Universe: Revelation?
Yes, I did.
What did you think about that? Because Teela is at the forefront of that series, and her character is so well done in it as well. Did you take anything from that for your performance?”
Oh, so well done. I feel like I definitely did. I don’t know how conscious it was, but obviously the ’80s cartoon is harder to pull from in a tonal sense, especially for Teela. But Revelation’s version of Teela had a groundedness and emotional depth to her that I really appreciated, because I feel like it laid the foundation for what Teela could be. It was nice to see that version — maybe the slightly more serious version of Masters of the Universe.
But I love that you guys are finding a balance between the two and infusing that into your characters as well. And I just want to say thank you so much — not just for female representation, but also for representation as a Brazilian playing Teela. It means so much to us.
Thank you. Thank you so much.!
Mendes as Teela, herself, is quite a revelation! And the film absolutely would not be the same if the role was in the hands of any other actress. We’re so grateful for the time she gave us, and for bringing Teela to life in a terrific way!
Catch Mendes in Masters of the Universe hitting theaters this week, on June 5! And stay tuned to The Nerds of Color for more coverage of Masters of the Universe, including our interview with director Travis Knight!