If you’re looking to deliver blockbuster entertainment to the masses, using giant robots isn’t a bad way to go, as seen with Power Rangers’ Zords, Pacific Rim’s Jaegers and more. While fans of the Voltron franchise have enjoyed such action in the television realm for decades, there have been numerous attempts to adapt the property for the big screen for almost two decades, including back in 2011 with Thomas Dean Donnelly and Josh Oppenheimer. Well, a Voltron movie is back on our radars, but this time, it’s being shepherd by the director of the hit Netflix movie Red Notice.
Rawson Marshall Thurber is attached to co-write and direct a live-action Voltron movie, but it isn’t set up at a studio just yet. Instead THR hears six or seven studios and streamers have sent out offers to acquire the project, including Warner Bros., Universal Pictures (which had been looking to make a Voltron movie back in 2016) and Amazon. Ironically, Netflix, which aired the animated series Voltron: Legendary Defender from 2016 to 2018, is not in the running for the Voltron movie.
In addition to having directed Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds in Red Notice Rawson Marshall Thurber filmography also includes Central Intelligence and Skyscraper (both of which also starred The Rock), so the man knows his way around action. Thurber’s take on the Voltron material reportedly hit the scene two weeks ago with pitches and a teaser reel. He came up with the story and is co-writing the script with Ellen Shanman, and Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman are attached to produce alongside Bob Koplar, the head of World Events Productions, which owns the Voltron property.
With a deal for the live-action Voltron movie potentially being put together by the end of this upcoming weekend, one wouldn’t be faulted for thinking we could see this blockbuster sooner rather than later. That being said, in addition to still being attached to helm The Division, Rawson Marshall Thurber is also writing and planning to shoot two Red Notice sequels back-to-back. As such, it’s unclear if those projects will take priority over the recently-emerged Voltron, or if he’s decided to make Voltron before them.
The original Voltron animated series that aired in the mid-1980s was adapted from the Japanese sci-fi shows Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV. The original premise followed five young pilots in the Robot Lions battalion that piloted animal-styled robots that came together to form the Voltron mecha. Along with the Netflix series mentioned earlier, other Voltron follow-up shows include Voltron: The Third Dimension and Voltron Force. The Voltron canon has also been expanded upon in comics and video games.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on how Rawson Marshall Thurber’s live-action Voltron movie is coming along. Feel free to also look through the lineup of 2022 movie releases to learn what’s headed to theaters and streaming later this year.
