Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Sven are an elite team of space explorers sent to find the last princes of planet Arus, Allura, and the keys to Voltron. Together they discover the five lions that make up the legendary robot, buried in the smoking ruins of planet Arus. However, the evil warlord King Zarkon appears and rains down destruction across the universe. When things seem darkest, our heroes form Voltron and begin a new struggle against his cruel empire.
During 2006 and 2007, all 72 "Lion Force" episodes of
Voltron: Defender of the Universe were released on DVD, in 5 different tin packages that were each designed in honor of the five lions that make up the "Voltron of the Far Universe" robot (better known as the "Lion Force" Voltron). Now Media Blasters/Anime Works, in conjunction with show producer World Events Productions, is repackaging and re-releasing the entire run of those 72 adventures:
May 4th sees the launch of both
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Lion Force Part 1 and
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Lion Force Part 2.
Each set will list for $49.99 SRP, with Amazon showing that the
Lion Force Part 1 collection will contain 7 discs, and the
Part 2 package holding 8 discs. Running time is listed as 900 minutes per set. Specs aren't specifically mentioned, but are expected to be the same as the previous DVD releases: full frame video, and audio tracks in both English 2.0 and English 5.1 mixes. It is unknown at this time what bonus features, if any, will be on the new releases. There was quite a bit of extras on the old sets, though, so it's realistic to expect most (or possibly all) of the same material to make it over to the new titles.
The timing for this release couldn't be better!
Voltron fans have probably heard the recent news that a new animated series - "aimed at kids, with some fresh elements, but also paying respect to the original series" - is in the works to begin broadcasting on NickToons this coming fall. And of course the plans are still moving forward for a 2011 theatrical bow of a live-action
Voltron film! But the very latest news is that World Events Productions tells us to let fans know to be on the lookout soon for a 3-DVD release of
Voltron: The Third Dimension. When?
Summer 2010! We'll have detailed news about that release soon, and - according to WEP, anyway - possibly some "other surprises." Stay tuned!
In the meantime, we leave you with cover art for both of the new
Lion Force sets. Check 'em out:
