Voltron (film)

Last updated

Voltron
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Screenplay by
  • Rawson Marshall Thurber
  • Ellen Shanman
Story byRawson Marshall Thurber
Based on Voltron
by World Events Productions
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMarkus Förderer
Production
companies
Distributed by Amazon MGM Studios
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Voltron is an upcoming American science fiction action film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber from a script co-written with Ellen Shanman. The film is a live-action adaptation of the 1980s animated television series Voltron and is produced by Thurber, Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, and Bob Koplar for Amazon MGM Studios. It stars newcomer Daniel Quinn-Toye in his feature film debut, alongside Henry Cavill, Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora, John Harlan Kim, Alba Baptista, and Samson Kayo.

Contents

Premise

Five piloted Robot Lions can combine to form the ultimate humanoid robot, Voltron, to battle evil. According to director Rawson Marshall Thurber, the film will "stay true to the heart and the spirit of Voltron" while "introducing an entirely new generation of pilots," reimagining the franchise in live-action. [1]

Cast

Production

Background

Based on the Japanese animated series Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV , World Events Productions created a re-edited, dubbed version for an American audience titled Voltron: Defender of the Universe , which ran in syndication for three seasons from 1984 to 1985. The premise of that series centered around five young pilots in the Robot Lions battalion who join together to form the mega-robot Voltron. It was followed by numerous American series (including the eight-season Netflix series Voltron: Legendary Defender ), comic books, and a line of toys. [2] [3]

Previous attempts

In July 2005, producer Mark Gordon, together with Ted Koplar, announced plans to create a live-action film adaptation of the Voltron franchise in collaboration with producers Mark Costa and Ford Oelman. Pharrell Williams was also reportedly attached to compose the musical score for the film. [4] The project's development was funded by Jim Young's Animus Films. [5]

In August 2007, New Regency entered negotiations with World Events Productions and The Mark Gordon Company to adapt Voltron, with Justin Marks writing a new script. Interest in the property heightened after the box office success of Transformers (2007), another film involving shape-changing robots. [5] Marks' script was described as "a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City...[in which] five ragtag survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth's invaders." [5] But at that time, Ted Koplar, through World Events Productions, was fighting a legal battle with Toei Company Ltd. over the movie rights. [6]

On August 17, 2008, Relativity Media entered negotiations with New Regency to finance and produce the film, at the time titled Voltron: Defender of the Universe, though on a more moderate budget. [7] In 2009, World Events partnered with Atlas Entertainment to develop and secure financing for the film, with Chuck Roven, Richard Suckle, Steve Alexander, and Jason Netter to produce. [8] Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer entered into collaboration on writing the script, [9] and on September 16, 2010, concept art for the movie was released. [10]

In 2011, Relativity Media entered into an option agreement with Atlas and World Events to finance and produce the film, [11] but the option later expired, and in 2015, Relativity filed for bankruptcy. [12] [13] [14] World Events subsequently granted an option to produce the feature film to DreamWorks Animation, with whom it had partnered with for the animated series Voltron: Legendary Defender . [15] On November 4, 2016, three months after the completion of NBCUniversal's acquisition of Classic Media's parent company, DreamWorks Animation, for $3.8 billion, [16] [17] it was announced that Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation would make the film with David Hayter writing the script, [18] but that option later expired as well. [19]

Development

In March 2022, it was announced that a live-action adaptation was officially back in development, based on a story by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Thurber planned to direct and co-write the screenplay with Ellen Shanman, and Thurber, Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, and Bob Koplar would produce. [20] In April 2022, Amazon MGM Studios announced that it was in negotiations for the distribution rights of the film. [21] In October 2024, newcomer Daniel Quinn-Toye was cast in the lead role, alongside Henry Cavill. [22] [23] In November 2024, Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora, John Harlan Kim, Alba Baptista, Samson Kayo, Tharanya Tharan, Laura Gordon, and Tim Griffin joined the cast. [2] [24] [25] In December 2024, Nathan Jones was also cast, [26] and Keanu Karim and Kevin Spink were cast in January 2025. [27] [28]

Filming

Principal photography began in December 2024, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, at Village Roadshow Studios, under the working title Space Mouse. [22] [29] [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

<i>Voltron</i> American science fiction franchise

Voltron is an American animated television series franchise that features a team of space explorers who pilot a giant super robot known as "Voltron". Produced by Peter Keefe and Ted Koplar through his production company World Events Productions, Voltron was an adaptation of several Japanese anime television series from Toei Animation. The original television series aired in syndication from September 10, 1984, to November 18, 1985. The first season of Voltron, featuring the "Lion Force Voltron", was adapted from the series Beast King GoLion. The second season, featuring the "Vehicle Team Voltron", was adapted from the unrelated series Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.

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References

  1. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 25, 2024). "'Voltron' Movie At Amazon MGM Studios Adds Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora & John Kim". Deadline. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Kit, Borys (November 25, 2024). "Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora, John Kim to Star in Voltron for Amazon MGM (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  3. ↑ Fink, Richard (April 19, 2022). "Amazon Studios Eyeing Red Notice Director's Voltron Live-Action Movie". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  4. ↑ Stax (July 26, 2005). "Voltron Targets Hollywood". IGN. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Marc Graser (August 9, 2007). "Voltron gets bigscreen go". Variety. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Lawsuit Launched over Proposed Live-Action Voltron Film". Anime News Network. November 18, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Some action on the Voltron movie". Cinecon.com. August 18, 2008. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (May 10, 2012). "Voltron Movie Update". IGN. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  9. ↑ Brodesser, Claude (August 19, 2014). "A Bidding War Breaks Out to Finally Make a Big-Budget Voltron - Vulture". Nymag.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Concept Art from Voltron Feature Pitch". Collider.com. September 16, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (July 21, 2011). "Relativity to Turn Anime Classic 'Voltron' Into Live-Action Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Relativity Media Chapter 11 Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  13. ↑ Patten, Dominic; Fleming Jr., Mike. (July 30, 2015). "Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media Finally Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Relativity Creditors Reach Settlement Over Big Hits Like 'Bridesmaids,' 'Fast and Furious 6'". The Hollywood Reporter. January 9, 2016. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  15. ↑ Wong, Steven (September 15, 2017). "'Voltron' Blasts Its Way Into VR Game Series". A List. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  16. ↑ James, Meg (April 28, 2016). "Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  17. ↑ Dave McNary (August 22, 2016). "Comcast Completes $3.8 Billion DreamWorks Animation Purchase". Variety. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  18. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 4, 2016). "Universal Inherits DWA Live-Action 'Voltron' Film; David Hayter Scripting". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  19. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 23, 2022). "Live-Action 'Voltron' Movie, With Rawson Marshall Thurber to Direct, Ignites Bidding War". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  20. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 23, 2022). "Live-Action Voltron Movie, With Rawson Marshall Thurber to Direct, Ignites Bidding War (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . PMRC.
  21. ↑ Kit, Borys (April 19, 2022). "Amazon in Talks to Pick Up Voltron With 'Red Notice' Filmmaker Rawson Marshall Thurber to Direct". The Hollywood Reporter . PMRC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  22. 1 2 Kit, Borys (October 2, 2024). "Tom Holland's West End Understudy Daniel Quinn-Toye Nabs Starring Role in Amazon MGM's Voltron (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  23. ↑ Kit, Borys (October 10, 2024). "Henry Cavill to Star in Voltron for Amazon MGM (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  24. ↑ Gonzalez, Umberto (November 26, 2024). "Alba Baptista Samson Kayo and Tharanya Tharan to Form Voltron in Amazon MGM Live-Action Movie (Exclusive)". TheWrap . Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  25. ↑ Stephan, Katcy (November 27, 2024). "Voltron Movie Adds Laura Gordon and Tim Griffin (Exclusive)". Variety . Penske Media Corporation.
  26. ↑
  27. ↑
  28. ↑
  29. ↑ Peters, Megan (November 4, 2024). "Voltron Director Teases Hollywood's Live-Action Vision: Watch". ComicBook.com . Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  30. ↑ Geisinger, Gabriella (December 11, 2024). "Amazon MGM Studios' live-action Voltron begins filming in Australia". KFTV.com . Media Business Insight.
  31. ↑ "Film and TV Project Database - Production Bulletin". Production Bulletin. January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
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