The rebooted Voltron series promises new characters and a strong plot while still sticking to its roots.
[dropcap size=small]V[/dropcap]oltron is back and better than ever with a rebooted series coming to Netflix on June 10th. Given the title Voltron: Legendary Defender, the animated series was produced by Dreamworks Animation and the first season will have a total of thirteen, twenty-two minute long episodes.
The original Voltron animated series first aired back in 1984 when anime was just beginning to become popular. The story followed five soldiers and the princess of the planet Arus as they piloted their own unique lions and when faced with a challenge they could not overcome individually, would come together to form Voltron. However, in Voltron: Legendary Defender the story has been tweaked to provide more background stories on the five soldiers (who are now teenagers) and the princess so that fans become more attached to the characters while also getting an idea of the struggles each character faces.
The five teenager are known as Keith (voiced by Steven Yeun), Lance (Jeremy Shada), Hunk (Tyler Labine), Pidge (Bex Taylor-Klaus) and Shiro (Josh Keaton). The princess in Voltron: Legendary Defender was also tweaked by the writers so that she is more relatable and less of a damsel in distress. Lauren Montgomery, co-executive producer of the animated series, said that Princess Allura (who is voiced by Kimberly Brooks) isn’t a “fighter right off the bat. She’s still a princess from a peaceful kingdom. But she’s certainly not fainting at every little thing that overwhelms her.”
“Not everything is solved by Voltron alone. Sometimes they need to beat something just as the lions. Sometimes they just do it as themselves fighting as men.”
The challenges that Princess Allura and the five teenagers face in Voltron: Legendary Defender will be no easy tasks. In many cases the heroes will be pushed to their limits and in some cases they barely make it out alive. Gone are the episodes where the main characters could come together to form Voltron and crush anyone who got in their way.
Voltron: Legendary Defender comes to Netflix on June 10th.
