Voltron returns to TV this summer
A panel held Friday at WonderCon, an annual comic book, science fiction and film convention, released the premiere date and trailer for the new Voltron reboot: “Voltron: Legendary Defender.”
“Voltron: Defender of the Universe” was originally an animated show that debuted in the 1980s. It originally combined scenes from two popular Japanese shows, “Beast King GoLion” and “Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.”
The original “Voltron” was set to be an English dubbing of “Beast King GoLion”, but was heavily edited and reconstructed to become a completely different project, due to the studios inability to translate the show.
The DreamWorks Animation and Netflix reboot will focus on five characters, each in control of a robotic lion. Like the original story, these lions combine to form Voltron, a humanoid robot with incredible power that vanquishes enemies and defends the innocent. The show is set to premiere June 10.
In January DreamWorks and Netflix announced the series relaunch, and in February released teasers that revealed the show’s new name: “Voltron: Legendary Defender.”
Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos are executive producers of the Voltron reboot, with Tim Hedrick as the head writer.
Montgomery, Dos Santos and Hedrick all previously worked on the Avatar franchise. Dos Santos worked on “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Montgomery on the sequel series, “The Legend of Korra,” and Hedrick worked on both.
The unmistakable style of the Avatar franchise is seen in the new Voltron trailer and in the characters, as it combines the unique style of Japanese anime with the plot progression of a Western cartoon.
The cast offers a variety of characters, whose backstories are crucial to the story line. According to a tweet from Montgomery, the show aims to create a diverse cast of characters.
"We want to tell a rich story and really develop these characters,” Hedrick tweeted.
Although following a similar premise, the DreamWorks reboot will follow an original story line. Dos Santos also stated he wished to delve more into the fictional world of Voltron.
"Previous show didn't really leave the planet,” Dos Santos tweeted. “We want to take the show on the road & show Voltron as defender of the universe."
According to the panel, season one will comprise 13 episodes.
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