Netflix will be the new home for The Defender of the Universe and a new, original series from one of Hollywood’s most imaginative filmmakers.
This week, DreamWorks Animation announced plans to extend and expand their deal to provide original content for the popular streaming video service, and identified a reboot of the Voltron animated series and a new project from acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro as just two of the shows that will come out of the companies’ collaboration.
The newly announced series are both expected to premiere in 2016, with the Voltron reboot offering a “reimagining” of the popular 1980s outer-space adventure series featuring giant, robotic lions piloted by a group of young heroes who can combine their respective lions into a single, massive robot. The series went on to spawn several interconnected animated series, comic books, video games, and toy lines, including the 2011 Voltron Force animated series that aired on Nicktoons.
The other project in development is Del Toro’s Trollhunters, an animated series that promises to “unleash a new, fantastical world wrapped around two best friends who make a startling discovery beneath their hometown.” Del Toro’s exact role in developing the project is unspecified.
These two series are just the first of several projects to come out of the expansion of DreamWorks’ partnership with Netflix, which has already produced several original animated series. Among the past shows to come out of the deal are the Netflix series The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Dinotrux, and Dragons: Race to the Edge — a spinoff series based on DreamWorks’ popular How to Train Your Dragon animated feature.
“DreamWorks Animation is synonymous with great storytelling that families around the world enjoy,” said Cindy Holland, vice president of original series for Netflix, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “It’s with great pleasure that we expand on an already successful relationship with DreamWorks Animation to bring more premium kids and family television to Netflix members globally.”
