Voltron: Legendary Defender is an American animated web television series produced by DreamWorks Animation and World Events Productions and animated by Studio Mir. It is a reboot of both the Beast King GoLion anime series and the Voltron franchise, and its animation is a mix of anime-influenced traditional animation for characters and background and CGI for Voltron action sequences. The first season premiered on Netflix on June 10, 2016 and consisted of 11 episodes. It was released globally in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Benelux Union and Latin America. The second season premiered on Netflix on January 20, 2017 and consisted of 13 episodes. The third season will premiere on Netflix in September 2017, and like season 2, will consist of 13 episodes, and it was also revealed that the series has a 78-episode commitment to Netflix.
For millennia, the evil Galra empire has plagued the universe by destroying other civilizations and enslaving various races. The only known threat strong enough against the empire's power and plans is the legendary "Defender of the Universe" Voltron, a 100 meter tall robot warrior composed of five lion mechas whose pilots are known as the Paladins. At the crux of the war that ended with the destruction of planet Altea, Voltron was separated by King Alfor of Altea in order to protect Voltron from falling into the Galran Emperor Zarkon's possession. King Alfor bonded the five lion's energies to his daughter Allura's life force and sent them across the universe to different locations until the time for the next generation of Paladins to appear and pilot Voltron arrived. Princess Allura, her retainer Coran, and the Altean Castle of Lions were hidden on planet Arus along with the Black Lion.
In the present, the Galra Empire's path of conquest and search for Voltron has led them to Earth's solar system. A group of space pilots – Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk – discover the Blue Lion and immediately get swept up into the Galran War. They meet Princess Allura, become the next Paladins, and reunite the five lions to form Voltron and combat Emperor Zarkon's nefarious schemes, with the hopes of ultimately defeating the entire Galra Empire.
Josh Keaton as Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane - the Black Paladin, pilot of the Black Lion and Guardian Spirit of Sky. Leader of the Defenders of the Universe, Shiro was captured by the Galra Empire a year before the start of the series during which he was given a weaponized prosthetic right arm. A natural, decisive leader, Shiro is calm and always in control. Shiro's bayard was lost with the original Black Paladin. The Black Lion forms the head and torso of Voltron. In the last episode of Season 2, Shiro reclaims his bayard from Zarkon and is able to use it to transform Voltron's sword into a "blazing sword" to defeat Zarkon, but after the battle, it is revealed that he has mysteriously vanished.Steven Yeun as Keith - the Red Paladin, pilot of the Red Lion and Guardian Spirit of Fire. Formerly a cadet at Galaxy Garrison before dropping out, Keith is an orphan and a lone wolf as a result. Keith engineered Shiro's escape when his pod crashed on Earth. Sullen and temperamental, Keith spends his free time honing his skills for battle. Keith's bayard takes the form of a double edged sword, and it can create a large sword for Voltron to wield. With the bayards of the blue, green and yellow Lions, it can be made big enough to slice through giant warships. The Red Lion forms the right arm of Voltron. In Season 2, Keith discovers he has Galra blood, likely from his mother, from whom he was given a strange knife marking an affiliation with a secret rebel group of Galra called the Blade of Marmora.Jeremy Shada as Lance - the Blue Paladin, pilot of the Blue Lion and Guardian Spirit of Water. Lance was the fighter pilot of his team at Galaxy Garrison. Cocky and confident, Lance is the class clown of the Defenders and likes to think of himself as a ladies' man. Lance maintained a rivalry with Keith from when the two were at the Galaxy Garrison together but the two have shown to be an effective team. Lance's bayard takes the form of a rifle. The Blue Lion forms the right leg of Voltron.Bex Taylor-Klaus as Katie "Pidge" Holt - the Green Paladin, pilot of the Green Lion and Guardian Spirit of Forest. Katie disguised herself as a boy named Pidge Gunderson to get into Galaxy Garrison to find out what happened to her father and brother who disappeared whilst on a mission which Shiro was also on. A technical genius, Pidge is the smartest member of the team able to create specialist modifications for the Green Lion such as a cloaking device (which only lasts thirty seconds) and she repurposed a Galran drone to work for her, naming it Rover (Rover sacrificed itself to protect Pidge). Pidge's bayard takes the form of a small, electrified blade which can function as a grappling hook. The Green Lion forms the left arm of Voltron.Tyler Labine as Hunk - the Yellow Paladin, pilot of the Yellow Lion and Guardian Spirit of Land. Hunk was the engineer of his team at Galaxy Garrison. A gentle giant with an equally large appetite, Hunk is the heart of the team, lifting them up and making peace between them. After witnessing first hand the devastation and misery that Zarkon's conquest of the universe has brought upon the people of various worlds, Hunk is determined to free those enslaved. Hunk's bayard takes the form of an energy cannon and it can arm Voltron with a large shoulder cannon that can shoot multiple targets. The Yellow Lion forms the left leg of Voltron.Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura - Crown Princess of Altea, Allura is the last female Altean. Pilot and keeper of the Castle of Lions, a structure that is a castle and a spaceship, Allura was responsible for granting the Defenders their title and sending them on their mission to conquer Zarkon and liberate the universe. Gentle and a friend to all, Allura wishes more than anything to finish her father's work in stopping Zarkon. As an Altean, Allura has the chameleon-like ability to be able to blend in with a species (something that made her people incredible diplomats and explorers). She has a telepathic bond to some Altean mice that were in her cryo-pod with her.Rhys Darby as Coran - The Royal advisor to Princess Allura and the last male Altean. Energetic and excitable, Coran serves Allura dutifully whilst being fiercely protective over her. He tends to ramble on and off about his past, particularly about his supposedly daring feats or past experiences. Despite his odd and quirky character, he is a reliable and steadfast ally to his princess and the Paladins.Neil Kaplan as Emperor Zarkon - Zarkon is the Emperor of the ruthless Galra Empire, and lord and master of most of the known universe after spending the last ten thousand years conquering a vast majority of the galaxy. He desires the Lions of Voltron, not only because they represent the biggest threat to his campaign, but because he is later revealed to be the Black Paladin before Shiro, from a time when most of the Galra were allies of the Alteans, and still possessing the Black Paladin bayard. As such, he views the Lions as his own property rather than seeing himself as a former chosen one to pilot the Black Lion. He is able to use his bayard in far more advanced ways than the current Paladins, able to form a myriad of energy weapons with which he can easily go toe-to-toe directly with the Lions themselves. In the last episode of Season 2, Zarkon faces Voltron and the Paladins in an experimental mecha armor and is defeated but left in critical condition, requiring life-support.Cree Summer as Witch Haggar - A mysterious and despicable witch, Haggar is Zarkon's primary adviser, and leader of the Druids, dark mystics who fanatically serve the Galra Empire. Haggar is both a dangerous sorceress and a mad scientist. She combines her unnatural magicks with abominable science to create powerful weapons to arm soldiers, terrible monsters (dubbed "Ro-beasts" in the second season) to fight Voltron, and leech entire planets (and other sources) of the mystical energy known as Quintessence. In battle, her magical abilities allow her to teleport, cast illusions, fog the mind with hallucinations, and use her hands to project energy blasts and shields. Haggar is revealed to be Altean in the second season finale, and orders the remaining Galran commanders to summon their lord's son, Prince Lotor.Keith Ferguson as King Alfor - The late King of Altea and father of Allura, Alfor gave into fear and chose to hide the Lions across the cosmos to prevent Zarkon from claiming them. He placed his daughter in suspended animation and left a digitized version of himself to guide Allura once she woke up. Alas his AI is corrupted by the energy of a Galran crystal, causing him to threaten the Paladins, Coran, and even Allura. With no choice, Allura disconnects her father's A.I. from its power source and loses her father forever.Jake Eberle as Commander Sendak - A ruthless and fearsome commander within the Galra Empire, Sendak was ordered to capture the Lions and destroy their Paladins, and almost succeeded had it not been for the efforts of Pidge. Sendak has replaced his left arm and shoulder with a cybernetic prosthetic shoulder and forearm connected by an energy binder that allows him to attack from a distance, using his arm like a flail or pull himself over great distances. He was captured by the Paladins and placed in suspended animation in an effort to glean his mind of information, only for Shiro to apparently dispose of him out of paranoia.Mick Wingert as Thace - A military officer of the Galra Empire, Thace betrays Zarkon by lowering a barrier to allow the Lions, their Paladins, and the Castle of Lions to escape. He is later revealed to be a member of the Blade of Marmora, a secret group of Galrans who are against Zarkon's rule. In the end, Thace sacrifices himself to insure the success of the mission to defeat Zarkon, and dies with honor and satisfaction.Arnold Vosloo as Ulaz - A Galra Scientist, who Shiro remembers as the one who helped him escape the Galra Empire, and a member of the Blade of Marmora. He gives the Paladins coordinates to the Blade of Marmora's primary headquarters and sacrifices himself to save the Paladins.On January 5, 2016, Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced a new original animated Voltron series to debut in 2016 as an expansion of their existing multi-year agreement. Voltron is one of several series planned for initial development and debut in 2016, including Guillermo del Toro's animated Trollhunters. Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, both known for their work on the Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra, served as showrunners while fellow crew member Tim Hedrick served as head writer. On March 25, 2016 at WonderCon it was announced that the voice cast would consist of Steven Yeun as Keith, Jeremy Shada as Lance, Bex Taylor-Klaus as Pidge, Josh Keaton as Shiro, Tyler Labine as Hunk, Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura; and Rhys Darby as Coran and Neil Kaplan as King Zarkon. Cree Summer later confirmed that she would be voicing Witch Haggar.
It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that season two will premiere on Netflix in late 2016. A few months later, at New York Comic Con, it was announced that the second season will premiere on January 20, 2017. The second season saw a special premiere at the New York Comic Con on October 7, 2016, where an episode was shown at the Voltron panel.
All 11 episodes of Season 1 were released on June 10, 2016. The first episode is triple-length, creating a cumulative runtime for the season equal to the industry standard of 13 episodes.
All 13 episodes of Season 2 were released on January 20, 2017. Each episode runs for 23 minutes.
Voltron: Legendary Defender received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for the first season, based on 6 reviews, with Critic Consensus being that "Voltron: Legendary Defender honors its source material with beautifully expressive animation and impactful action."
Two comic series detailing events happening in between seasons were announced in January 2016. Taking story ideas that were deemed too outlandish and too epic to be contained in a 23-minute episode from the animated series, these comic series bridges the time lapse between seasons.
The first miniseries consisted of 5 issues, published by Lion Forge Comics. It was written by show head writer Tim Hedrick and Mitch Iverson, and illustrated by Digital Art Chefs. A special cover variant of issue #1 was available at San Diego Comic Con in 2016, with a limited release of 250 copies. Issue #2 was released on August 2, 2016, followed by issue #3 on October 5, 2016, issue #4 on November 9, 2016, and issue #5 on November 20, 2016. The whole series will be collected in a graphic novel and was initially scheduled for a December 2016 release, but got pushed back to January 3, 2017, then was finally released January 25, 2017 according to Lion Forge. The second series will be announced after the release of the graphic novel.
During the Voltron: Legendary Defender panel at Wondercon 2017, the second series of five issues would debut in May of 2017.
To promote the series in between the release of season 1 and 2, a Robeast fanart contest was announced via social media on October 18, 2016. The winner was announced on December 27, 2016 on social media under the username "Zilla B".
