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If you’ve been following pop culture movie news for any length of time, you’ve heard story upon story about a film based on the anime series Voltron maybe happening, then not. For whatever reason, no one has been able to nail everything down to turn the story of five pilots who form a mega robot into a movie. But now, it seems, it’s finally happening.
Earlier this year, there was a bidding war for the rights to a new version of the movie with Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber attached. Amazon/MGM eventually won and casting for the film’s young leads soon began. Now, the first name has been revealed and while it’s not someone many of us have heard of, the fact he’s been cast at all is by far the biggest step forward a live-action Voltron movie has ever taken.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that a young actor named Daniel Quinn-Toye has been cast as the male lead in Voltron. Quinn-Toye has never been in a movie, but he’s been in a few TV shows and recently was Tom Holland’s understudy in the West End production of Romeo & Juliet. He also played Paris in the production. Casting is still going on for the female lead with it reportedly down to three finalists. Filming will begin this fall in Australia.
Though Voltron originally hit popular culture in the 1980s, it’s a franchise that has seen itself revived again and again. Most recently, it ran for eight seasons on Netflix as the animated show Voltron: Legendary Defender. (The image above this article is from that show.) Critics raved about the show and it worked to bring the franchise back into the zeitgeist.
Voltron celebrates its 40th anniversary this year (I have the Target-exclusive toy to prove it)—and with giant robots still, at least in theory, all the rage, now seems to be the time to bring it back. But, again, we’ve been here before. Never to the casting stage but Voltron movies have been in the works for years. Here’s hoping that not only does this movie get made, but that it’s good. Because it would really, really suck to wait decades to see the five lions on the big screen and then for it to not work.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest as it pertains to Voltron but, what do you think? Is this the time? Will the movie live up to expectations? Discuss it below.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
