Several major studios are reportedly vying for the rights to Rawson Marshall Thurber’s take on the classic mecha anime.
live action Voltron The film has reportedly sparked a bidding war between six or seven major Hollywood studios.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros., Universal, and Amazon Studios are reportedly among the half-dozen studios offering deals on the new live-action reboot of the classic mecha anime. red notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber is attached to direct the film. Thurber is also co-writing the film, along with tiger and bunny writer Ellen Shanman. It should be noted that Netflix, which broadcast the most recent series in the franchise, the 2016 voltron: Legendary Defender, is not among the studios fighting for distribution rights to the film. A pitch package, including a trailer for the potential film, was sent to the studios several weeks ago, and the film’s producers hope to close a deal by March 27.
Voltron was originally created by World Events Productions in 1984. Like Robotechanother syndicated animated import from the 1980s, the series was originally adapted from cut footage from several different Japanese anime series, the most notable of which was Toei Animation’s. Beast King GoLion. The original show was one of the highest-rated animated shows of the ’80s and has spawned a franchise that has continued in the decades since with multiple spin-offs and reboots, as well as numerous comic book and video game adaptations.
The original series told the story of a team of five young men, each piloting a mechanical lion, which could transform and combine to form Voltron, a mighty giant sword-wielding robot. The five warriors are tasked with protecting the planet Arus and its leader, Princess Aluria, from the evil warlord King Zarkon and his army of cybernetic monsters.
The movie industry has been trying to create a live-action adaptation of the series since 2005, when Grey’s Anatomy producer Mark Gordon announced plans for a film based on the franchise. Musician Pharrell Williams was also brought on board to produce and create the score for this version of the film. Gordon’s version of the film reportedly reimagined the series in a post-apocalyptic setting. The film languished in development hell when Toei and World Events Productions became involved in a legal battle over the film rights to the franchise, and distributor Relativity Media went bankrupt. In 2016, it was announced that Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation were now developing the project, with solid metal gear actor and X Men (2000) writer David Hayter penning the screenplay, although this attempt at Voltron The movie seems to have flopped as well.
The original 1984 series is now available on DVD from Universal Home Pictures Entertainment. The 2016 reboot, Voltron: Legendary Defenderis available for streaming on Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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