voltron coming to the big screen!

how do you kill a successful genre? saturate the marketplace with every imaginable variant of the same formula.

i hope i am wrong. i really do.

what gets me worried is this report from reuters based on a story that came out in the hollywood reporter today that says voltron, the '80s japanese cartoon of a robot that transforms itself into five independent lion planes, will be made into a movie as well. blame transformers' huge success! hahaha!

here's an excerpt of the news story filed by steven zeitchik:

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Japanese cult hit "Voltron" heads to big screen

The producers behind "Get Smart" and "The International" have acquired the rights to make a live-action feature based on the Japanese robot-lion property "Voltron."

Based on Japanese anime properties Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV, "Voltron" features a "Transformers"-like conceit, in which a band of five robot-lions combine to form one super lion. A group of five pilots control the lions, which are charged with defending the planet Arus from villain King Zarkon, who dispatches evil creatures called Robobeats to fight the Voltron robots.

"Voltron" aired on U.S. television in 1984 and 1985. Since then, the property has remained a favorite in diverse communities, from the fanboy to the hip-hop worlds.

"It's undeniably impressive that Voltron has sustained itself globally for a quarter of a century," said Charles Roven, who will produce with his Atlas Entertainment partners Richard Suckle and Steve Alexander.

"Voltron" has not yet been set up at a studio. Atlas has a production deal with Sony, which like other studios has been seeking a fresh action tentpole to rival Paramount's "Transformers" mega-franchise.

"Voltron" previously spent several years in development with Mark Gordon, the producer of action-drama hits such as "The Patriot" and "Saving Private Ryan."