Brian May Shreds on Masters of the Universe Soundtrack Ahead of Hollywood Premiere

Two versions of ‘Eternia’ featuring May’s Red Special are streaming now, with the film premiering at TCL Chinese Theatre on May 18.

Brian May is all over the Masters of the Universe soundtrack, contributing guitar to composer Daniel Pemberton’s score for the upcoming He-Man film. Two versions of a piece called ‘Eternia’ are already available ahead of the movie’s premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18, offering an early taste of what Pemberton describes as the ‘most maximalist score ever.’

Brian May Brings the Red Special to Eternia

The two released tracks are different versions of the same composition, both built around May’s guitar work. Pemberton’s description of the score as the ‘most maximalist score ever’ is not hard to believe once the tracks are heard; the soloing May delivers has been characterized as among the most epic of his career in decades.

May himself seemed caught off guard by the early release. ‘Ah! Here it is!’ he exclaimed. ‘I only just discovered this is out! We have the power!’ The guitarist had telegraphed his involvement back in February, promising the film ‘will make a lot of people smile a lot’ and confirming that ‘yes, my ol’ Red Special is all over it!’ The Red Special, May’s hand-built guitar that has been central to Queen’s sound since the 1960s, is instantly recognizable to any serious rock listener, and its presence on a major fantasy blockbuster score is a genuine event.

Pemberton’s Blockbuster Pedigree

Pemberton is no stranger to high-profile film work. His previous credits include Project Hail Mary, Spider-Man: Into/Across the Spider-Verse, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, a resume that spans science fiction, superhero animation, and action-adventure. Pairing that sensibility with May’s guitar vocabulary makes a certain kind of sense: both operate in a register that favors the grand and the theatrical.

The film itself stars Nicholas Galitzine as Adam Glenn/He-Man, Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars as the villain Skeletor, and Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms. Masters of the Universe premieres at the TCL Chinese Theatre on May 18 before going into wide release on June 5.

May’s History With Film Scores

May’s involvement in film music is a thread that runs through his career, though it has never overshadowed his work with Queen. The most famous example remains Queen’s soundtrack to the 1980 science fiction film Flash Gordon, for which May composed the iconic theme. He also contributed to the 1996 film Pinocchio and, three years later, composed the full score for Alexandre Aja’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Furia.

That history gives the Masters of the Universe collaboration real context. May has always been drawn to the cinematic and the epic, qualities that defined Queen’s studio work from Bohemian Rhapsody onward. A fantasy film built around one of the most recognizable characters in 1980s pop culture is, in many ways, a natural fit for the guitarist who helped score Flash Gordon more than four decades ago.

What we know

• Two versions of a composition called ‘Eternia,’ both featuring Brian May, are already available ahead of the film’s premiere.
• Masters of the Universe premieres at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18 and goes into wide release on June 5.
• Composer Daniel Pemberton described the soundtrack as the ‘most maximalist score ever.’
• May confirmed his involvement in February, saying his Red Special guitar is ‘all over’ the film.
• The film stars Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Jared Leto as Skeletor, and Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms.
• Pemberton’s previous soundtrack credits include Project Hail Mary, Spider-Man: Into/Across the Spider-Verse, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

The take

Brian May’s relationship with film music is one of the more underappreciated dimensions of his career. Queen’s Flash Gordon soundtrack in 1980 was genuinely ahead of its time: a rock band providing a fully integrated orchestral-rock score for a major studio release was unusual, and the album holds up as a standalone piece of work. May’s subsequent solo film work, including Furia, showed he could operate as a composer in his own right rather than simply lending guitar cameos. The Masters of the Universe collaboration with Pemberton fits a pattern that has become more common in recent years, where composers working in the maximalist blockbuster tradition actively recruit rock and metal guitarists to add texture and weight that orchestral writing alone cannot deliver. Hans Zimmer’s long use of electric guitar in his scores is the most prominent example. Pemberton, whose Spider-Verse work demonstrated a willingness to blend genres aggressively, is a logical partner for May. The choice of the Red Special matters, too. That guitar has a specific harmonic character, a warmth and sustain that is immediately identifiable to anyone who grew up with Queen records. Deploying it on a fantasy film rooted in 1980s nostalgia is a deliberate act of sonic world-building, not just a celebrity cameo.

Why it matters

For Classic Rock fans, this is a reminder that May remains an active creative force, not simply a legacy act trading on Queen’s catalog. The early release of the ‘Eternia’ tracks ahead of the premiere suggests confidence in the material. More broadly, the collaboration signals that major studio productions continue to see value in pairing established rock guitarists with contemporary film composers, a trend that benefits both the films and the artists by introducing each to the other’s audience.

What’s next

Masters of the Universe premieres at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18. The film goes into wide release on June 5. The two versions of ‘Eternia’ featuring May are available to stream now.

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