If you've been disappointed with fewer options on Netflix, the drop can likely be attributed to the streaming service's commitment to putting out original content. With wildly successful originals like the Marvel properties (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage), Stranger Things, and Voltoron: Legendary Defender, one could argue that quality over quantity is working in Netflix's favor.
Resurrected from the depths of '80s, Voltron: Legendary Defender's first season was yet another breakout hit for Netflix. Season 2 was confirmed during San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, and a new teaser for the follow-up season was recently unveiled at New York Comic Con. After the events in the season 1 finale, fans have been clamoring to find out the fate of the five pilots.
In speaking with the producers during NYCC, Screen Rant has learned that the finale cliffhanger was an unintended consequence of the long animation cycle. Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery dish that while season 2 was recently announced for fans, producers had known it about it for quite some time. When asked about a budget for the second season, Montgomery says:
"The funny thing with animation is that in order for it to be done by a certain time, it's got to start forever ago. So we've known about season 2 for a long time, and it was pretty much done before season 1 ever came out. We didn't get any sort of budget, we didn't even get people off our backs. We didn't get any kind of backing off until [the first season] came out and it was really successful."
Dos Santos adds, "Honestly, for us, it feels like a giant season. But production wise, it very much was a season 1 that was split into two seasons." This news should bring relief to fans of the reboot knowing that seasons 1 and 2 were written together should make for a fairly seamless transition. But there's still a long wait to find out what's next for the team.
Story editor Tim Hedrick also weighed in on the season 1 finale buzz saying, "We always want to build to an awesome battle and then uncertainty. Feed the fandom, then take it away when they want more." Hedrick does, however, promise a more expansive story in the second season. Producers knew a lot of time needed to be allocated for exposition and world building and says they're ready to now move on to new adventures:
"It's a lot of table setting, really. Hopefully entertaining, but there's a lot to get out and a lot to learn. In the next round, we're going to start to see more stand-alone adventures, we're going to explore some new places, we're going to get out and travel around the galaxy a little more. We've also got a lot of deep mythology we're still unpacking, so that will continue to come out."
Voltron: Legendary Defender season 2 will be available on Netflix on January 20, 2017.