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Filming for the long-awaited live-action adaptation of the 1980s cartoon Voltron finally started late last year. While we don’t have a release date yet, we do know Voltron has a star-studded cast that includes Henry Cavill, Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora, Alba Baptista, and more. It hasn’t been revealed who each is playing, but I have some thoughts on this and about a whole lot more, as the afternoon cartoon holds a special place in my Gen X heart.
It All Started In St. Louis
I grew up in St. Louis, and while I didn’t realize it at the time, the whole reason we have Voltron at all is because of a TV exec in St. Louis named Ted Kopler. Kopler owned a TV station in St. Louis known as KPLR (get it?). In the 1980s, legend has it that in order to develop programming his young kids would enjoy, he struck on the idea of buying foreign kids’ shows and repackage them in the United States.
In a fluke accident, after Koplar discovered three Japanese anime at a trade show, he ordered copies of each, but one called Beast King GoLion was sent by mistake and Kopler loved it. When repacked with an English audio track and some editing, it became Voltron: Defender Of The Universe.
We St. Louisans are a proud bunch and let’s be honest, we don’t always get the best national press. So this one is ours. It came from a little TV station in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis and grew into a worldwide franchise. The upcoming live-action adaptation is the most recent, and most exciting, development yet.
We’re Getting New Characters
In addition to the cast, we also know the new movie will feature a “new generation of pilots,” per Deadline. As much as I’d love to see the original characters, there are still ways to bring their story into the film.
As is often the case with Japanese anime adaptations, the original story from Beast King GoLion was considerably more adult-oriented. Characters were killed, others were enslaved, and some dealt with drug addiction. I understand why most of those elements were removed from Voltron—it was an afternoon cartoon for kids, after all. A live-action adaptation is the perfect opportunity to add some of those darker moments, giving the characters new and, frankly, more interesting motivations.
One character, Sven, became playground legend when he was injured on the show and basically disappeared from the show. His fate was a hot topic of debate between kickball at bats, but in the end, he was just nursing an injury. His backstory in Beast King GoLion included losing his rank as the team leader due to his drug use.
Sterling K. Brown, who’s Hulu show Paradise just finished Season 1, and is available to stream in full on Hulu and Disney+, would be perfect as a character that incorporates some of that backstory. Sven is a complicated character in the original Beast King GoLion and while some of his darker backstory, including the drug use, was rewritten for Voltron, it’s still a heavy role, the kind Brown excels at.
It All Comes Full Circle
One of the coolest things about this adaptation for me as a St. Louisan is that not only is St. Louis native Sterling K. Brown one of the stars, but one of the producers listed on the upcoming sci-fi movie is Bob Kopler. He is the son of the late Ted Kopler, the man ultimately responsible for bringing Voltron to the world. Now that shooting has officially kicked off, St. Louis stands by, ready for Voltron to once again defend the universe.