The live-action Voltron movie has brought on a major star. The upcoming feature, which is being developed by Amazon MGM Studios, is an adaptation of the long-running animated franchise of the same name which was itself based on a Japanese animated series and follows spacefarers who operate a giant robot. The movie is set to be directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, whose previous projects include the comedies Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and We’re the Millers as well as the action movies Skyscraper and Netflix’s Red Notice, both of which starred Dwayne Johnson.

Per Deadline, Man of Steel, The Witcher, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout star Henry Cavill has been cast in the live-action Voltron movie. At the time of writing, his role in the upcoming project remains unknown. He joins the previously announced star Daniel Quinn Toye, Tom Holland’s understudy from the recent West End stage production of Romeo & Juliet, who will be playing a similarly unspecified lead role.

Voltron joins a roster of upcoming projects that could potentially see the star spearheading a new long-running franchise. These movies include the upcoming Highlander reboot and the Warhammer 40,000 franchise. He is executive producing the latter, also for Amazon MGM Studios. Any of these three movies could spawn a franchise that could effectively replace the multiple previous IP projects on his resume that he has since departed.

The original 1986 movie Highlander, which followed a battle between immortals, starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery.

Previously, Cavill played Superman in the DC Extended Universe movies, which kicked off with Man of Steel in 2013. Although his return was teased in the post-credits scene from 2022’s Black Adam, David Corenswet will be taking over the role moving forward, starting with 2025’s Superman. Similarly, Cavill recently departed his Netflix fantasy adaptation The Witcher and will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth for the final two seasons. Because his 2024 spy movie Argylle‘s disappointing box office made it unlikely that it would spawn its own promised franchise, the star has yet to find a new long-running character.

As much as Voltron could help Cavill find a new franchise, his casting could help the movie in return. He is a much more well-known star than the unknown actor Daniel Quinn Toye and could bring more attention to the project as it enters production. Being paired with a new iconic franchise could also draw more attention than his role in Argylle, which was an original project but featured a confusing marketing campaign that made it unclear what exactly it was about or if the book it was allegedly based on was real or ghostwritten.