For decades, Hollywood has struggled – and failed – to assemble the massive mecha robot”Voltronfor a live-action adaptation of the beloved 1980s animated television series.
Now director of “Red Notice” Rawson Marshall Thurber hope he will be the one to put together the arms, legs and head of the robot lion.
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The filmmaker, who also directed Dwayne Johnson “Skyscraper” and “Central Intelligence” films, is attached to direct and co-write a “Voltron” film in a package that currently has offers from multiple studios. Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman (“Beauty and the Beast”) are producing with Bob Koplar of World Events Productions, the company that owns the “Voltron” rights.
Thurber is writing the screenplay with Ellen Shanman.
Although the original “Voltron” only lasted from 1984 to 1985, it captivated young audiences with its story of a team of five who battle the forces of evil in giant robotic lions who unite to form the titular robot warrior even bigger. The series was very loosely adapted from the Japanese sci-fi series “Beast King GoLion” (then later “Armored Fleet Dairugger XV”, which involved 15 vehicles instead of five), with World Events writing new stories and dialogues. The show has been revived three times, in 1998 for syndication, 2011 for Nicktoons, and 2016 for Netflix.
Several attempts to mount “Voltron” live-action films in the 2000s and 2010s failed, including efforts by Pharrell Williams and Mark Gordon, and later Relativity and Atlas Entertainment.
This may not be Thurber’s next project; it’s also set to make back-to-back sequels to “Red Notice,” which Netflix claims is the streamer’s most-watched original film.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported this story.
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