Henry Cavill will star in the upcoming live-action Voltron movie, with production set to take place in Australia later this year. The Superman and The Witcher star has signed on for the much-anticipated adaptation of the beloved 1980s mecha anime, coming from Amazon MGM Studios.

Cavill will be joined by rising talent Daniel Quinn-Toye, a West End actor who impressed producers with his performance on the stage alongside Tom Holland. The pair are expected to lead a strong extended cast.

The film is based on the classic animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe, which itself was an edited version of the Japanese shows Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV. The story follows five young pilots who control robotic lions, which combine to form the powerful mega-robot Voltron, tasked with defending the universe from evil forces. The show became a cultural phenomenon during its mid-1980s run and remains a fan favourite to this day. Netflix had a reboot of the Voltron story, an animated series titled Voltron: Legendary Defender, which had a seven-season run from 2016-2018.

Set to direct the film is Rawson Marshall Thurber, whose credits include comedy We’re the Millers and Dwayne Johnson films Central Intelligence, Skyscraper and Red Notice. As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be produced by Todd Lieberman (Hidden Pictures), Bob Koplar (World Events Productions), and David Hoberman (Hobie Films).

For Cavill, Voltron marks another high-profile role in what has been a busy period. He recently starred in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle for Apple Original Films and Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare for Lionsgate. He also made a surprise appearance in this summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

Looking ahead, Cavill stars opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Guy Ritchie-directed action film In the Grey, to be released in 2015, and is slated to star in Chad Stahelski’s long-awaited Highlander reboot, which will begin filming next year.