Summary
Henry Cavill has joined the live-actionVoltronmovie cast at AmazonMGMStudios, adding another popular franchise to a resume that includes Superman in Zack Snyder’s DCU, Netflix’sThe Witcher, and Amazon’s upcomingWarhammer 40,000projects.
Voltronwill be based on the animated series of the same name, adapted and dubbed from edited footage of the Toei Animation anime showsBeast King GoLionandKikou Kantai Dairugger XV. The premise centered on five young pilots who command the Robot Lions, a battalion of vehicles that combine to form the eponymous mega-robot Voltron. The series spawned three follow-up shows and a successful toy line. AmazonMGMStudios acquired theVoltronmovie package after a heated bidding war.
The Hollywood Reporterhas learnedCavill will “topline” the live-actionVoltronmovieopposite lead actor Daniel Quinn-Toye, who served as the understudy toSpider-Man actor Tom Hollandon the recent West End production ofRomeo & Juliet. As of this writing, the actors playing the remaining pilots have yet to be cast (or at least announced), though three actresses reportedly tested for the female lead role.Red Noticedirector Rawson Marshall Thurber will helm the live-actionVoltronmovie from a script he co-wrote with Ellen Shanman, though plot details for this new adaptation remain unknown.
The live-actionVoltronmovie has enlisted talent familiar with action-packed feature films. In addition to his previously mentioned roles as Superman in Snyder’s DCEU and Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’sThe Witcher, Cavill had leading roles in action movies such asMission: Impossible - Fallout, Matthew Vaughn’sArgyllefor Apple Original Films, and Guy Ritchie’sThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. He even briefly went toe-to-toe with Ryan Reynolds' Merc with a Mouth when he made acameo as a Logan variant inDeadpool and Wolverine.
Marshall Thurber also has extensive experience with action films. After helming comediesDodgeball: A True Underdog StoryandWe’re the Millers, he directed Dwayne Johnson in the action-comedyCentral Intelligence.He followedthat up by re-teaming with Johnson for the straight-up action filmsSkyscraperandNetflix’s top movieRed Notice. Quinn-Toye isn’t nearly as experienced with action as Cavill and Marshall Thurber (his only screen work includes a role in the BBC seriesBadultsand playing an extra inOutlander). However, his stage work reportedly impressed Marshall Thurber and the studio, earning him a place in theVoltronmovie.
Despite being introduced to American audiences in the ’80s,Voltronremains popular. Netflix’sVoltron: Legendary Defenderwas a critical success for the streamer in the late 2010s, spawning comics and toys in its own right. So, it’s not difficult to see why Amazon MGM Studios wants to tap into theVoltronwell, especially considering the original animated series still resonates with audiences of all ages. With Cavill on board, perhaps theVoltronmovie will interest the DC fans who feel the actor was done wrong by Warner Bros. and DC anddeserved better thanThe Witcher.
Voltronis in pre-production at Amazon MGM Studios.
Amazon
Amazon first began as an e-commerce company that provided customers with books and other media. It has since evolved into a massive company with many subsets, selling products, providing custom content through Prime Video, and even has its own video game development company.
