Voltron is an American animated television series franchise that features a team of space explorers who pilot a giant super robot known as "Voltron". This super robot was created when needed by smaller robots joining together, with the process of that unification varying over time. Produced by Peter Keefe (executive producer) and Ted Koplar through his production company World Events Productions, Voltron was an adaptation of several Japanese anime television series from Toei Company. 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.
Voltron: Defender of the Universe was the top-rated syndicated children's show for two years during its original run, and it spawned three follow-up series, several comic books, and a line of toys.
Television series
Lion Force Voltron ("Voltron of the Far Universe"; Voltron III)
The first series was primarily edited from Beast King GoLion (), and it features a team of five young pilots commanding five robot lions which can be combined to form Voltron. In this undefined future era, the Voltron Force is in charge of protecting the planet Arus (ruled by Princess Allura) from the evil King Zarkon (from planet Doom), his son Lotor, and the witch Haggar, who creates huge "ro-beasts" to terrorize the Arusian people. Despite being the first of the two robots to appear on American television, the "GoLion" version of Voltron was regarded as "Voltron III" within the storyline because, within the original planned three-Voltron continuity, Arus was the furthest setting from Earth's side of the universe ("Voltron I" being intended for the Near Universe, and "Voltron II" being intended for the Middle Universe).
Vehicle Team Voltron ("Voltron of the Near Universe"; Voltron I) The second series, colloquially dubbed "Car Voltron", was primarily edited from Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (), with the storyline considerably changed. In this iteration of Voltron, the Galaxy Alliance's home planets are now overcrowded, and a fleet of explorers is sent to search for new planets to colonize. Along the way, they attract the attention of the evil Drule Empire, long engaged in an ongoing war against the Alliance, and the Drule proceed to interfere with the mission of the explorers and the colonists. Since the Arusian Voltron is too far away to help these explorers, a totally new Voltron has to be constructed to battle the Drule threat.
This Voltron Force consists of fifteen members, divided into three teams of five, known respectively as the Land, Sea, and Air Teams. Each team is specialized in gathering data or fighting in their area of expertise. Each team can combine their vehicles into a bigger machine. When necessary, all fifteen vehicles combine to form the mighty Voltron. However, the Vehicle Team Voltron only had enough stored energy to operate for five minutes at a time.
In the toy line, this Voltron was referred to as Voltron I because it was set closest to Earth.
Gladiator Voltron ("Voltron of the Middle Universe"; Voltron II) The proposed third season was to have been based on . The series would have centered around three teenage geniuses who each created a humanoid robot that were then modified for battle to combat an alien threat. Unlike the Lion Force Voltron or the Vehicle Force Voltron, both of whom were composed of machines that combined to form them, Gladiator Voltron's three components actually disassembled and reassembled into one large robot. This allowed for multiple different combinations with different functions and skills depending on the situation. There were also three jets that the team members would fly into hatches on the backs of their robots to pilot them that could also combine into one large jet, which were later replaced with other jets that could transform into smaller bipedal robots and could also combine to form a larger robot. Although Matchbox did produce and market toy versions of the three robots (Black Alpha, Blue Beta, Red Gamma) under the "Voltron II" name, the series never actually aired. Due to the extreme popularity of the Lion Force Voltron and the lack of popularity of the Vehicle Team Voltron series, World Events Productions eventually elected against another alternate Voltron, and plans to adapt Albegas were aborted.
Voltron: Fleet of Doom (1986)
In 1986, World Events hired Toei Animation to produce the one-off crossover television special Voltron: Fleet of Doom, which mixed in GoLion and Dairugger XV footage with new animation. The special was made for the international market and, as of the middle of September 2016, it had not been released in Japan.
Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998–2000)
The computer-generated series Voltron: The Third Dimension was released in 1998, set five years after the end of the original Lion Voltron series. The series was met with a mixed response, due to various changes, such as the revamped looks of the Lion Voltron, King Zarkon, and Prince Lotor. The series served as a sequel to the Lion Force Voltron series; among the tools used to bridge the gap between the two series was an official starmap as designed by Shannon Muir and finalized in partnership with World Events Productions. After Voltron: The Third Dimension, World Events Productions went back to the drawing board to develop a more traditionally animated series in an attempt to recapture the spirit of the original.
Voltron Force (2011–2012)
The animated series Voltron Force premiered on Nicktoons in June 2011. The series follows the exploits of a group of three young cadets brought together by the original members of the Voltron Force to defend the galaxy against a resurrected Lotor, now ruling the planet Drule after a military coup d'état. Voltron Force is a World Events Production in conjunction with Kick Start Productions and Classic Media.
Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016–2018)
The Netflix-exclusive series Voltron: Legendary Defender, produced by DreamWorks Animation, is a reboot of the Voltron story. The series premiered on June 10, 2016, with Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery serving as showrunners. On January 5, 2016, Netflix announced that Voltron would debut in 2016 as an original animated Netflix series in partnership with DreamWorks Animation (DWA), part of an expanded multi-year agreement between the two groups. In February, teasers revealed the title of the new series to be Voltron: Legendary Defender. On March 25, 2016, a teaser trailer was released, announcing that the first season, consisting of 13 episodes, would premiere June 10, 2016. A second season premiered on Netflix on January 20, 2017. The third season premiered on Netflix on August 4, 2017, and consisted of 7 episodes while the fourth season premiered on October 13, 2017, and consisted of 6 episodes. The fifth season premiered on March 2, 2018, and consists of six episodes. The sixth season premiered on June 15, 2018, and consists of seven episodes. The seventh season premiered August 10, 2018 and consists of 13 episodes. The eighth and final season premiered on December 14, 2018, and consists of 13 episodes. The series' success has spawned several comics, action figures, and other toys.
Live-action film
In July 2005, producer Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) announced plans to create a live-action film adaptation of the Voltron franchise in collaboration with producers Pharrell Williams, Mark Costa, and Frank Oelman. Pharrell Williams was also reported to compose the musical score for the film. The project's development was funded by Jim Young's Animus Films. In December 2006, screenwriter Enzo Marra was announced to have completed a script for Gordon. In August 2007, the production entity New Regency entered negotiations with The Mark Gordon Company to adapt Voltron. Interest in the property heightened after the box office success of Transformers, another film involving shape-changing robots. Mark's 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." On August 18, 2008, Relativity Media entered negotiations with New Regency to finance and produce the film, though on a more moderate budget, utilizing cost-saving CGI techniques such as those used in 300. Max Makowski was slated to direct. As of the end of August 2008, the title had been set for Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Relativity would have released the film in North America while New Regency's distribution partner, 20th Century Fox, would handle international distribution. But at that time, Ted Koplar, through his World Events Production Company (Koplar took over the company as the health of Peter Keefe declined; Keefe died in 2010 at age 57), was fighting a legal battle with Toei Company Ltd. over the movie rights as of November of that year. On September 16, 2010, concept art for the movie was released. On March 8, 2011, it was announced that Relativity Media and World Events had entered a bidding war on who would make the film. Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer entered into collaboration on writing the script. On July 21, 2011, Atlas Entertainment & Relativity Media announced they would bring Voltron: Defender of the Universe to the big screen. Relativity Media would distribute. On July 30, 2015, Relativity filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York after lawsuits and missing loan payments, and the film rights reverted to Classic Media. 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, it was announced that Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation will make the film with David Hayter writing the script.
In March 2022, it was announced that the live-action film was officially back in development with Rawson Marshall Thurber directing and co-writing the screenplay with Ellen Shanman, and produced by Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, and Bob Koplar. The film also incited a bidding war between Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Amazon Prime Video. Amazon is leading the bid. On August 1, it was confirmed that Amazon had acquired the rights. On October 3, newcomer Daniel Quinn-Toye was cast in a lead role. On October 10, it was reported that Henry Cavill would be joining the live action cast in an undisclosed role. On November 25, 2024, it was reported that Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora and John Kim were cast in undisclosed roles. The next day, Alba Baptista, Samson Kayo and Tharanya Tharan were announced in undisclosed roles. It was announced that filming on the movie had begun.
Characters