Henry Cavill’s live-action ‘Voltron’ skips theatrical release for streaming: 'It’s big, bodacious and dynamic'

Henry Cavill’s live-action ‘Voltron’ movie will skip theaters and go straight to streaming, marking a major release shift for Amazon MGM Studios’ adaptation of the 1980s animated series. The film, which stars Cavill alongside Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora and Daniel Quinn-Toye, will debut on Prime Video, though Amazon has not announced a release date. The move puts one of the studio’s effects-heavy franchise titles on home screens instead of the big screen.

Voltron movie skips theaters for Prime Video

Yahoo Entertainment reported that after Amazon's MGM Studios confirmed the plan during its slate presentation on Monday, May 11, the live-action remake will stream on Prime Video when it releases.

The film adapts ‘Voltron: Defender of the Universe’, the animated series that aired from 1984 to 1985. The original show followed five robot lions and their pilots as they fought the evil forces of King Zarkon and Prince Lotor, according to IMDb.

Rawson Marshall Thurber directs the movie. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Ellen Shanman and previously directed ‘Red Notice’. The Hollywood Reporter first reported in 2022 that the project had sparked a bidding war. Amazon later landed the rights.

GamesRadar’s Total Film listed the cast as Cavill, Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora, Daniel Quinn-Toye, John Kim, Samson Kayo, Alba Baptista, Tharanya Tharan, and Laura Gordon.

Sterling K. Brown teases Voltron reboot

Deadline reported that Brown spoke about the movie at San Diego Comic-Con last year. “Rawson Marshall Thurber is the director, the screenwriter. I think he’s come up with a really wonderful vision to reintroduce something that we grew up with in the ’80s to the 2027 crowd,” Brown said.

He added, “It’s heartfelt. It is big. 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.”

GamesRadar reported that Cavill will play King Alfur, while Brown will play Zarkon. The movie is expected to arrive in 2027, but Amazon MGM Studios has not set an exact streaming date.