Henry Cavill Joins Legendary Sci-Fi Anime Live-Action Reboot

While Henry Cavill’s casting is the biggest Voltron news, a few other names have been attached to the project. The stage actor Daniel Quinn-Toye has also been cast in the movie, after working with Tom Holland at the West End theater. We also know that the film will be directed by Dodgeball’s Rawson Marshall Thurber, who co-wrote the script with Ellen Shanman. 

Outside of Henry Cavill’s casting little is known about the Voltron adaptation. Nothing has been revealed about the film’s plot, or who the Superman actor will be playing. More casting information and an approximate release date will likely come out as the movie gets closer to shooting. 

With his most well-known role being Superman in the DCEU, Henry Cavill should be right at home working on a beloved property like Voltron. The original show centered around a group of young mech pilots who fought using giant mechanical robots. Those mechanical lions could be fused to form an even larger humanoid mech, which was used to fend off invaders from Planet Doom. 

The Henry Cavill adaptation of Voltron will also indirectly be adapting two other anime series, which formed the basis of the original show. The show was initially based on the show Beast King GoLion, editing, and dubbing that anime to fit into new narratives made by World Events Productions. Strangely, later seasons of the show adapted an entirely unrelated show, Armored Fleet Dairugger XV in a similar fashion, using dubbed dialogue to set it in the same universe. 

Before the Henry Cavill live-action adaptation, Netflix rebooted the franchise with Voltron: Legendary Defender, as a modern take on the animated series. That show, which was a hit with critics and very popular, has renewed interest in the property and is likely at least partially to thank for the live-action adaptation’s existence. It will be interesting to see if the live-action version acknowledges the reboot, or sticks to adapting the classic 80s show exclusively. 

For Henry Cavill, Voltron is one of many projects he’ll be juggling in the next few years. He’s also been cast as the lead in the reboot of Highlander and is set to appear in the Guy Ritchie action-thriller Into the Grey. In addition to his acting roles, he’s also executive-producing a Warhammer 40,000 adaptation for Amazon. 

With Henry Cavill aboard, the Voltron adaptation has managed to build some positive momentum for the project, but there are still some major hurdles for the movie to overcome. Live-action anime adaptations have a very poor track record, a reputation the movie will have to overcome. Perhaps the Man of Steel actor and his creative collaborators will overcome that legacy, but it’s far too early to tell how likely that is.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter