A live-action Voltron movie is in development from Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber. Created in the 1980s, Voltron is now a massively popular franchise comprised of animes, animated shows, comics, and video games. The property originates from the Japanese anime from Saburō Yatsyde called Beast King GoLion, as the series was then edited and dubbed into English to create Voltron. Five Voltron animated shows have been produced, with Netflix most recently contributing to the franchise via Voltron: Legendary Defender.
The premise of Voltron follows a group of five space explorers who pilot Voltron, a giant Super Robot. Keith Akira Kogane is traditionally the main character, as he is the leader of the Voltron Force. Due to the brand's continued popularity, Hollywood has long had eyes on adapting the series for live-action. There has not been any luck in a live-action Voltron movie, as attempts stalled at every effort, even after Paramount and Michael Bay found great success with the Transformers franchise and Lionsgate attempted a Power Rangers live-action reboot. This even led to plans for an animated Voltron movie being announced in 2016.
Now, Hollywood is ready to try and give a live-action Voltron movie another chance. THR reports that Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber is developing the latest attempt to bring the beloved property to the big screen. Thurber is attached to co-write the project with Ellen Shanman and direct. He reportedly began pitching his idea to various studios a few weeks ago, which included a teaser reel and a deal to make the Voltron live-action movie could be agreed to soon.
Six or seven studios/streaming services are left competing for the rights to make the Voltron live-action movie, with Amazon, Universal, and Warner Bros. among those still involved. Netflix is noticeably out of the running, though, which comes as a surprise considering the streaming service's recent connection to the IP and Thurber. Whenever a deal is struck to make a live-action Voltron movie, Netflix could still potentially be responsible for making fans wait a bit to see it.
Thurber is already attached to write and direct two Red Notice sequels for the streaming service, and it is currently unclear which project will take precedence in his schedule.
Assuming a deal closes for one of Hollywood's major studios to finance the Voltron movie, it will be fascinating to see how the project ultimately takes shape. Whether it becomes a theatrical release title or something for one of the many streaming services on the market is one question looming over the film. With Thurber's involvement, there is no question that the live-action Voltron movie will be big-budget and filled to the brim with robot set pieces. Now fans will have to hope that this version of the film actually happens. -We Got This Covered
