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Voltron details!
Hey guys, got some information on the Voltron script that Justin Marks recently finished up. Marks is a very busy guy, also working on scripts for He-Man, Street Fighter and the Green Arrow project, Super Max.
Being a fan of the Voltron cartoon, I've got to say that I'm far more interested in laying out some plot points than spoiling anything for you guys but be warned anyway!
If you want to learn a detailed history of the cartoon, I advise you to check out the Voltron Wikipedia page.
So for the sake of this article, I'll assume you know characters, robots and planet names.
I've always loved the 5 W's of journalism, so I'll tell you the Who? What? Where? When? and Why?
When?
I'll start with the When just to establish what's going on for you. Future planet earth. Earth has been attacked by an alien race called the Drules, whom we never see. They use battle droids called RoBeasts that can regenerate themselves from metal debris, so it makes them almost impossible to kill with conventional weapons.
Who?
There are plenty of new characters in the script, but I'll center mainly on who I remember from the cartoon.
We know that there are two groups that have been scraped together; one is a militia group led by Dukane and another led by former soldier Keith Kogan, who is helped out by his friend, Lance MaClain. Recognize the names? In the cartoon, Dukane was the leader of the vehicle Voltron Force, Keith was Black Lion pilot and Lance was Red Lion Pilot.
Allura and Hunk are two travelers making their way down to Mexico to deliver five differently colored keys. I'm sure you know the colors. Paths cross and Keith and Lance take on the job of chauffeuring Allura and Hunk down to Mexico. Along the way, they pick up 11 year old Pidge.
Eventually, they make it down to Mexico way and we meet Sven Holgersson and Coran. In the cartoon, Sven was the first pilot of the Blue Lion and Coran was Allura's royal advisor. Needless to say, the characters in the script are different than the cartoon.
What?
Obviously, the What is Voltron. Do we see him? Read on.
So down in Mexico, Allura and company have been busy manufacturing five robots to take on the RoBeasts using a combination of ancient pyramid drawings and alien technology. But the keys Allura was carrying are needed to power them. If you're following along, I think you know the significance of the keys. While under attack, the robots are hastily finished up, but are far from battle ready and things go bad. Which takes us back to Manhattan, where the heroes try to make a final stand for humanity's sake!
We do see Voltron and his flaming sword battle it out in one final climactic battle scene. The battle takes place across the entire world.
Where?
The script is set in post-apocalyptic Manhattan and Mexico with various cities shown along the way.
Manhattan and Mexico (no particular city is named) are the two main back drops. Manhattan, Mexico and really, the entire world have been torn to shreds. The war between the RoBeasts and Mankind has left the earth decimated. A destroyed Manhattan will make for some great battle scenes. The battles are massive, with buildings and bridges torn apart and giant leaps to Paris and India thrown in to boot.
Why?
We learn that the Drules objective is to find the five keys that Allura is carrying. With the keys, the Drules can take over the universe.
Marks has written an expensive project here. I can't imagine the budget necessary to put this together and still retain the scripts vision. Being the purist that I am, I didn't enjoy seeing characters changed up and I'm referring especially to Pidge.
The kid cartoon pretense is thankfully dropped. We see death and destruction on an R-rating level. We also hear a few PG-13 cuss words thrown about.
Just so you know, we never see planet Arus or Kingdom of Altair, but we do hear them mentioned. We also never see or hear the names, King Zarkon, Prince Lotor or Haggar.
Do I want to see a Voltron movie made? Oh yeah. Do I want to see this script made? Definitely. I imagine some things will change but one thing in particular that I hope will change is... well, I will say this only. We don't need another E.T. Speak N Spell moment.
Excelsior!!!
Holy ****....not another '80 Cartoon! Now, all we need is GI Joe, since apparently the Thundercats are coming!
