Another Voltron Lawsuit Forms

James Young, Ford Oelman and Mark Costa of Animus Films and NHO Entertainment have filed suit against World Event Productions (WEP), claiming that Animus and NHO were guaranteed an exclusive opportunity to begin developing a feature film based on WEP’s Voltron: Defender of the Universe property, but during that exclusive period, WEP secretly negotiated film development with other production companies. The plaintiffs are suing for breach of contract, fraud and interference with contractual relations, and are seeking various forms of damages. WEP, which now has a Voltron movie development deal in place with Atlas Entertainment, has responded, “This lawsuit is frivolous and without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously… Fortunately, these baseless claims do not in any way encumber the film or any other Voltron project, and we are excited to proceed on the long-awaited Voltron feature film with our partner Atlas.” Animus Films CEO James Young has stated, “We want the movie to get made. We just want to make sure we’re involved in some way and are compensated.”

WEP is also currently still engaged in legal mediation with Toei Animation related to WEP’s lawsuit against Toei, arguing that Toei had interfered with WEP’s attempts to negotiate a production deal for an American live action Voltron movie. Toei insists that WEP has full control of the animation franchise but does not have exclusive rights to produce a live action adaptation of the concept and characters that Toei created.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter & Anime News Network