I will briefly introduce research into the properties and evolution of extragalactic massive stars, highlighting where we have reached the limits of current facilities. Our future goals are clear: high-quality optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy of massive stars in galaxies beyond the Local Group. In particular there is strong desire to push our studies to systems with even lower metallicities than currently possible, to test our understanding of massive stars in primordial galaxies analogous to those in the early Universe. The French-led MOSAIC instrument under development for the European ELT will provide unprecedented opportunities for optical spectroscopy of massive stars, but we will be lacking the vital diagnostics revealed by UV spectroscopy. I will introduce the UV case, and argue that we need the sensitivity of an aperture significantly larger than HST to achieve our goals.