Voltron, the children’s animated series that started in the 1980s, saw a great revival when DreamWorks Animation and World Events Productions brought Voltron: Legendary Defender to Netflix in June last year. Now on its third season, the show that centers on five Paladins who pilot robotic lions that combine to form a giant robot to fight the evil Galra Empire has led to comic books, action figures and now a VR series that debuts for PlayStation VR on September 26.
DreamWorks Voltron VR Chronicles is a joint project between visual effects studio Digital Domain (which also launched an original VR series called Monkey King in August) and Universal Brand Development, which announced a strategic focus on games publishing in May. In it, viewers become Paladins and go on adventures through time and space alongside the show’s characters Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Keith, Shiro, Allura and Coran and fight the villain Zarkon by solving puzzles and beating challenges.
“Digital Domain has been an innovator in the entertainment industry by creating content that fans want to consume,” Wayne Kennedy, Digital Domain’s director of creative development on Voltron, told AListDaily. “The team decided to collaborate with Universal Brand Development to develop Voltron VR Chronicles and create a new level of interactive storytelling, allowing fans to step inside the Voltron universe for a completely immersive VR experience.”
Kennedy said that Voltron was the ideal IP for a VR experience because it was exciting and that it was a chance for fans to interact with their favorite characters and experience the robotic lions at their true scale.
“The size of the Voltron lions, the vastness of space and the overall grandness of the Voltron universe makes for an incredible VR experience,” Lalie Fisher, senior producer for games and digital platforms at Universal Brand Development, told AListDaily. “We’re able to bring the huge iconic world of Voltron: Legendary Defender to life in an immersive 3D experience that allows fans to virtually step inside an episode, and that is something really special. The users are able to view their surroundings in a full 360-degree setting, giving them a definitive and up-close look at the environments and the Voltron lions themselves. This simply would not be possible to do in any other medium.”
Fisher said that Voltron VR Chronicles has its own story and acts as an extension of the show. The VR experience will be promoted across all the Voltron social channels. Meanwhile, Kennedy made it clear that Voltron VR Chronicles isn’t a promotion VR experience for the show.
“It’s a complete experience unto itself that allows fans to step inside the world of Voltron: Legendary Defender and partake in their own memorable adventure,” he said. “This interactive narrative experience allows us to creatively extend the series’ storylines, putting fans in the center of the action.”
To that end, Kennedy explained that Digital Domain worked closely with the showrunners, who provided some of their writing expertise and knowledge of the Voltron universe to ensure authenticity.
“Fans of the show will be excited to learn that the TV show’s voice actors lent their voice talents to the experience,” said Kennedy.
