Sometimes I look at what comes out at the movies, and wonder what Hollywood was thinkng. I mean, Transformers? But my husband, who is exactly the right age to have been tearful at the death of Optimus Prime in the 1980’s animated movie, informs me that men his age love these new movies. Box office agrees. At least Optimus Prime was a machine and plausible to bring back to life.

Producer Mark Gordon has been developing a live-action adaptation of Voltron for the past three years after acquiring the rights from Animus Films. But the project languished on the drawing board until Michael Bay’s similar-themed Transformers touched off a new Hollywood love affair with super automatons by banking $600 million worldwide and counting.

The original animated Voltron series aired in 1984 and was based on a hit Japanese anime called GoLion. It followed five young space explorers—Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk and Sven (yes, Sven)—who seek out and command variously colored robot lions, which unite to form the giant sword-wielding mecha robot named Voltron.

The Voltron Force, as the team was called, protected the planet Arus and its princess, Allura, from the terrorizing minions of Planet Doom led by the evil King Zarkon and his deadly Robeasts.

The program was less violent than its Asian counterpart, but was notable for its attempts at serious drama, such as Sven suffering a serious injury inflicted by the witch Haggar (he died in the original Japanese ‘toon), leading Allura to take his place piloting the Blue Lion. It also had romance as Zarkon’s troublesome son, Prince Lotor, sought to win the princess’s hand. (The characters later served as inspiration for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers).

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What’s not to love about the whole Voltron concept?

Another rumour for the movie treatment is GI Joe and The Smurfs. Voltron and The Smurfs? Actually, that’s two movies, but I wonder if it would work as one…?

Voltron, Defender of the Universe, was fighting against the ‘good’ planets of the solar system, according to the opening cartoon credits. I’ve actually seen it, and it takes most of the first series for them lion/tiger/cat things to form into the Defender of the Universe. Actually, it takes a couple of episodes to find the cats.

This wasn’t a show for kids. It was a series, it had drama. It was on television at 7am.

It followed He-Man Master of the Universe in the mornings, and then She-Ra (He-Man’s female spin off) came on and I had to leave for school. The Voltron script writer will be working on the He-man movie, which gives the whole thing a nice symmetry to me. The concept of a He-Man movie should make a whole bunch of 20-something men very happy too.

Picture note by Celebitcy: Header image is available as Wallpaper with a recreation of the Voltron Logo by user Ninja_Unmatched on Belchfire.net. He-Man image from Madman.com.au and is also available as wallpaper. She-Ra image from InternationalHero.co.uk.