The 80's television show gets the 'Transformers' treatment!
Devil's Due 'Voltron' comic book series
The success of Michael Bay's 'Transformers' franchise has evidently inspired Hollywood to look to other robot action figures to bring to the big screen. You might remember the Japanese robot television franchise, Voltron which you may have caught between 1984 and 1985. While the television show itself only lasted about two years, they were successful enough to launch a line of toys and continue to have a cult following today. So if you have loved Voltron all your life, then there is good news. Atlas Entertainment, the producers behind such films as 'The Dark Knight,' 'Get Smart,' and 'The International' recently acquired the rights to the Japanese television series from a St. Louis based company, World Events, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Voltron," a television hit in the 1980’s that has retained a loyal fan following, features a “Transformers"-like conceit, in which a band of five robot-lions combine to form one super lion. A group of five pilots control the lions, which are charged with defending the planet Arus from villain King Zarkon, who dispatches evil creatures called Robobeats to fight the Voltron robots.
Based on Japanese anime properties Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV, "Voltron” aired only for two years on U.S. television, in 1984 and 1985, when Japanese pop-culture had not yet penetrated the American mainstream.
But the title caught the same wave of interest that carried “Transformers," "Gobots" and other mythic stories about shape-shifting robots, and also prompted a popular line of toys.
The television show was relaunched again in the 90's and saw an independent comic book based on the television series a few years ago courtesy of Devil's Due publishers, but this is the first time that Voltron has gotten wind of any major motion picture news. The film would likely be in the same style as 'Transformers,' where live-action and CG robots merge. What do you guys think? Have you ever seen the television show? Did you read the comic book? Are you excited to see a Voltron movie?
