While doing a promo interview for season 2 of Paradise, actor Sterling K. Brown briefly touched on his upcoming role in Amazon Prime Video's live-action Voltron movie.
Brown is rumored but unconfirmed to be portraying Emperor Zarkon in the project, which wrapped in May 2025 after filming in Australia under the working title Space Mouse.
The project was filmed in such a remote and secure location that there were zero set photo leaks from the 6 month shoot.
"It’s about Voltron!” Brown humorously replied when pressed for details.
But then he went on to share, "We must be around the same age, because it was a big deal when I was growing up. I think it was a Japanese anime first, and then we got the rights for it in St. Louis, and the Koplars, which are based in St. Louis, were the primary distributors of it in the United States. I’m from St. Louis, and I went to school with the main producer for the film, Bob Koplar."
Brown (49) then turned to his Paradise Season 2 co-star, Shailene Woodley (34), and realized she probably didn't know anything about Voltron and explained, "Do you know Voltron at all? It’s these robot lions that come together to form this ultimate defender of the universe, and he’s got this amazing flaming sword, and he beats a lot of ass."
"So, I'm in it. We shot in Australia. That's directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who's awesome. We’ve got a great cast — some familiar faces, a lot of newcomers, or what have you. And I think that's all I can say without them wanting to cut off my pinky toe."
In addition to Brown, the Voltron movie also stars Henry Cavill, who is rumored to be portraying Keith. The project also stars former wrestler Nathan Jones, Rita Ora (rumored to be Haggar), John Harlan Kim, Alba Baptista, Samson Kayo, Laura Gordon, and newcomer Daniel Quinn-Toye.
Unconfirmed rumors speculate that the movie is actually a sequel to the original Voltron cartoon and not a remake.
Previously at San Diego Comic-Con back in July, Brown teased, "I think [Rawson Marshall Thurber's] come up with a really wonderful vision to reintroduce something that we grew up with in the ’80s to the 2027 crowd."
"It’s big, bodacious and dynamic, and that’s why it takes probably about 48 weeks of post-production to finish the thing off and get it together. I think things will be wildly entertaining."
Given that post-production time frame from Brown, the Voltron movie is probably looking at a late-2026/early-2027 release date.
That makes perfect sense on such a VFX-laden project that focuses on 5 giant lion robots that combine to become a giant mecha warrior who battles equally colossal bio-organic kaiju.
There have been a couple of different interpretations of Voltron over the years, but the plot generally centers on a team of five young pilots known as the Voltron Force.
Voltron centers on a team of heroes, most often Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Princess Allura, who pilot five massive robotic lions, each identified by a distinct color: Black, Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green.
When united, these lions form the legendary warrior Voltron.
Together, the team’s mission is to defend the planet Arus and safeguard the wider universe from the brutal Galra Empire, ruled by the tyrant King Zarkon, his son Lotor, and the dark sorceress Haggar the Dark Witch.
The series follows the Voltron Force as they journey across the cosmos, clashing with Zarkon’s armies, freeing worlds under Galra control, and forging alliances with other civilizations.
Through these interstellar battles and partnerships, the team works toward restoring balance and peace throughout the galaxy.
The original 1980s American animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe was produced by adapting and heavily reworking two separate Japanese anime that were not originally connected.
The first was 1981’s Beast King GoLion (Hyakujū-ō Goraion), a series that featured a noticeably darker tone and far more intense violence than what ultimately aired in the U.S.
Later on, a different incarnation of Voltron, one centered around vehicles rather than lions, was derived from 1982’s Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (Kikō Kantai Dairugger XV), further expanding the franchise through another heavily edited adaptation.
More recently, Netflix released a South Korean-American animated remake of the original animated series in 2016.