Henry Cavill Joins VOLTRON Live-Action Movie Cast

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As a child of the ’80s, I have vivid memories of staying up late to watch my favorite giant robot lions combine into the mighty Voltron. The original series was a staple of my childhood and it’s safe to say that my toy shelves were dominated by those iconic lions. So when I heard that Henry Cavill will be starring in the upcoming live-action Voltron movie, I couldn’t contain my excitement!

You truly can’t keep a good giant-robot-lions-that-become-a-gianter-robot-guy series down for long. A couple of years following the conclusion of Voltron: Legendary Defender, a live-action movie from Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber began development in 2022. Several studios were in a bidding war for rights to the film with Amazon MGM emerging victorious. Two years later, we have some casting news and it is big. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Henry Cavill will star in the upcoming live-action Voltron movie.

In this movie, Daniel Quinn-Toye takes the lead role and portrays Keith, the pilot of the Black Lion and commander of the Voltron Force. The character played by Cavill remains unknown at this point, though it seems unlikely he’ll be another member of the team due to their younger age. It might be that Cavill is set to play a villain or possibly Samuel Holt, the father of Pidge.

It appeared inevitable that a Voltron movie would come about at some point, considering the market’s current trend of nostalgia-driven films such as Netflix’s Gundam movie and the ongoing Transformers franchise. However, Voltron shares more similarities with Power Rangers than either pure anime or pure American animation. In the early ’80s, Ted Koplar and World Events Productions acquired rights to two entirely distinct Toei Animation series.

1981-1982 saw the airing of the series known as “Beast King GoLion.” Later, in 1984, World Events Productions (WEP) reworked, abridged, and redubbed this show to launch the first season of “Voltron.” Despite the original series’ success, no additional episodes of “GoLion” were produced. Consequently, WEP took an unrelated series, “Armored Fleet Dairugger XV,” which aired from 1982-1983, and adapted it to fill the void. Both shows shared similarities: “GoLion” featured teens piloting giant robot lions that merged into a colossal mecha warrior, while “Dairugger XV” had teenagers driving super cars that combined to form a massive mecha warrior. The writers cleverly set season one in a distant future compared to season two to maintain continuity!

Nevertheless, it was undeniable that the Lion Force series garnered a greater appeal among children, particularly toy stores, following its debut in 1985. After the 52-episode run of Vehicle Force concluded, World Events Productions produced an additional 20 episodes of new Voltron content based on the GoLion characters and mechas.

The show made a few comebacks over the years. Initially, it was known as “Voltron: The Third Dimension” from 1998 until 2000, then it transformed into “Voltron Force” between 2011 and 2012. Later, in 2016, DreamWorks Animation partnered with Netflix to reintroduce the series as “Voltron: Legendary Defender”. This revival brought the show back to life and its fanbase grew significantly, rivaling that of the original series. The new version, a blend of elements from both the original “Voltron” series and the discarded parts of “GoLion”, turned out to be an epic space opera filled with heart, humor, and plenty of action.

It’s unclear which aspects of the different versions of Voltron throughout the years Thurber might draw inspiration from. However, it has been shown over time that the original series, its GoLion design, and the rewritten American characters and storyline are the most beloved by fans. My apologies to all Vehicle Force enthusiasts, but when people hear “Voltron,” they generally envision lions rather than vehicles.

Here’s Kyle Anderson, our esteemed Senior Editor at TopMob. His insightful film and television reviews are readily available for your perusal. Don’t forget to keep up with him on Twitter!

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2024-10-10 22:32