Voltron - Live Action

[Oscar Rothman]

http://deadline.com/2016/11/voltron-...medium=twitter

EXCLUSIVE: While Universal Pictures is sorting through the development and production projects it received in the DreamWorks Animation deal, it also inherited a live-action picture that had started quietly being developed when Jeffrey Katzenberg ran the animation factory. Universal now has a live-action Voltron film that is being scripted by David Hayter, the X-Men and Watchmen scribe who is also dialed into the fanboy set as the voice of Solid Snake in the English versions of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Tom Engelman is producing.

I’ve confirmed Hayter is writing the live-action project that started at DWA, which is also generating the animated series Voltron: Legendary Defender for Netflix. The property is about a corps of astronauts that pilot a giant super robot.

The studio would not comment on where it all is going to go, and it seems up in the air because it is an inherited project. Universal will get a script draft and make decisions, but it certainly has the branded franchise potential that is catnip to major studios.

[levcore]

Age O Voltron

[Just Jimmy]

awesome sauce!

[Batmon77]

Voltron should not be a problem after Pacific Rim and Godzilla.

[Maxflier]

Please do it justice. Please.

[headphones]

I'm getting quite tired of this. Someone tell hollywood not every property needs a big budget reboot. How about you work on some scripts based on original ideas, instead of just throwing in the trash.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by headphones

I'm getting quite tired of this. Someone tell hollywood not every property needs a big budget reboot. How about you work on some scripts based on original ideas, instead of just throwing in the trash.

Pacific Rim was generally well-received, but struggled to make money. So why *not* do something with the same basic idea (action movie featuring giant robots and monsters), but with more mainstream appeal, by using an established brand?

Or maybe you just don't like action movies with giant robots and monsters. So why do you care one way or the other? Voltron is not taking the place of a dozen indie dramas. More likely, the profits from big tentpole pictures help studios finance more smaller movies with limited audience appeal.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

Voltron should not be a problem after Pacific Rim and Godzilla.

In that light, it sounds hopeful with the right mood. Should it go more serious or be a mix of humor and seriousness as in the animated original series Voltron?

YouTube

Originally Posted by headphones

I'm getting quite tired of this. Someone tell hollywood not every property needs a big budget reboot. How about you work on some scripts based on original ideas, instead of just throwing in the trash.

I hope it doesn't take after the Transformers live action style and if possible, stays true to the series. But yeah, I don't know if they'll be able to pull this off or not. I'll wait and see. Cartoons don't always translate that well to live action IMO and are great as cartoons.

[The Debts]

Solid Snake doing the script? I'm listening.

[Batman1980]

I'd prefer a live action Macross film but this works too.

[UFAlien]

Universal is still going to be distributing Pacific Rim 2, though. Not to mention Lionsgate hoping to turn Power Rangers into a movie franchise with their upcoming March release. The only chance Voltron really has is nostalgia (and considering the property's from the mid-80s, its original fans are likely outside of the target market now) or fans of the new Netflix series.

Obviously Voltron precedes both Power Rangers and Pacific Rim, and both owe it a debt, but is the layperson going to know that? Especially in the teen-to-twentysomething demo? It seems like a catch-22. If the Power Rangers movie and Pacific Rim 2 are successful, then to anyone unfamiliar with the series' history it really is likely to come across as just a cash-in or ripoff. If Rangers and PR2 flop, it'll probably kill Universal's interest in the property.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

I'd prefer a live action Macross film but this works too.

I think James Wan developing that.

[Just Jimmy]

Originally Posted by headphones

I'm getting quite tired of this. Someone tell hollywood not every property needs a big budget reboot. How about you work on some scripts based on original ideas, instead of just throwing in the trash.

come on then, start writin'

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

Universal is still going to be distributing Pacific Rim 2, though. Not to mention Lionsgate hoping to turn Power Rangers into a movie franchise with their upcoming March release. The only chance Voltron really has is nostalgia (and considering the property's from the mid-80s, its original fans are likely outside of the target market now) or fans of the new Netflix series.

Obviously Voltron precedes both Power Rangers and Pacific Rim, and both owe it a debt, but is the layperson going to know that? Especially in the teen-to-twentysomething demo? It seems like a catch-22. If the Power Rangers movie and Pacific Rim 2 are successful, then to anyone unfamiliar with the series' history it really is likely to come across as just a cash-in or ripoff. If Rangers and PR2 flop, it'll probably kill Universal's interest in the property.

Good point about the Netflix new series of Voltron earning new fans.
One of the biggest highlights of the Voltron original series would be the giant lions robots forming Voltron, though once Voltron energizes his weapon sword, it's all over, so hopefully the monster in the movie will be able to counter that doom.
Another highlight would be the comedy antics of the evil King Lothor and his evil son combined with the witch Hagar. If they can capture those performances onscreen, that might be too corny in live action. That's really the problem with trying to turn a classic cartoon into a live action movie. Somehow the live action tends to make things too serious, or alter too much from the cartoon.

[Just Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Good point about the Netflix new series of Voltron earning new fans.
One of the biggest highlights of the Voltron original series would be the giant lions robots forming Voltron, though once Voltron energizes his weapon sword, it's all over, so hopefully the monster in the movie will be able to counter that doom.
Another highlight would be the comedy antics of the evil King Lothor and his evil son combined with the witch Hagar. If they can capture those performances onscreen, that might be too corny in live action. That's really the problem with trying to turn a classic cartoon into a live action movie. Somehow the live action tends to make things too serious, or alter too much from the cartoon.

I don't think Lothor and crew were intended to be comedy, it was just corny so really came off as funny.