Streaming sites are trying their hands at adapting a lot of popular existing materials these days. In the case of Netflix, a lot of those pieces of existing material come from comic books, graphic novels, and animated series. They’ve adapted The Umbrella Academy, She-Ra, and just a few years ago, Voltron.
Originally produced in the 80s, inspired by a Japanese series, Voltron followed five paladins as they set out to save the universe. Netflix developed Voltron: Legendary Defender from the same concept, but a few changes were made to modernize the series. Keith saw a few of those changes to his character, but he still retained his leadership skills and his loner attitude.
10 When Did The Series First Hint At Keith’s Galra Ancestry
The reveal that Keith had Galra blood was a big reveal for the series. Previous incarnations of the story have seen him be part Arusian (in the case of this version of the series, Altean). Revealing his mother as a Galra created some tension for the team.
If fans were paying attention, however, they would have noticed that Keith’s heritage was hinted at as early as season one. He was able to use his palm to activate Galra technology when encountering the Balmera, something that should have been impossible. Zarkon also remarked on his fighting style being more Galra than human when they first came to blows.
9 How Did His Design Change In Pre-Production
The Keith as fans know him in Voltron: Legendary Defender could have been very different. According to an interview with producers Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, he went through a major design change before the series went into production.
Initially, the plan was for Keith to have teeth that looked like fangs and white hair that he dyed different colors. The trouble was that the producers were afraid it would make his Galra heritage too obvious.
8 What Is Significant About Keith’s Connection To Voltron’s Lions
Each paladin of Voltron has a connection to their own lion. There's a bond and complete trust between the two. Keith, however, is a special case because he doesn’t have a bond with just one, or even just two, lions.
Keith was originally the paladin of the red lion in this version of the series. He had to win his lion’s trust by protecting it. When the team lost Shiro, the black lion chose him to become the team leader, and they formed a bond as well. Those aren’t the only lions Keith was able to sense though. When the series began with the blue lion on Earth, Keith also sensed that lion. He’s the only paladin to form some sort of connection with three of the five lions.
7 What Is His Last Name
Voltron: Legendary Defender is interesting because many of the characters - including the paladins - don’t have their last names revealed in the series. A lot of information about the characters comes from outside materials, which is where we infer Keith’s name to come from.
In the original Voltron series, Keith’s last name was Kogane. Because his surname, or even his own father’s first name, was never revealed in the series, fans have surmised that he must have the same last name as the previous versions of his character.
6 What’s His Star Sign
Keith’s birthday was October 23. On other planets, that might make his astrology sign something very different, but on Earth, that would make him a scorpio.
Fans who put stock in astrology would likely find that to be a fitting sign for Keith. Scorpios tend to be passionate and stubborn, but also obsessive and secretive. They’re incredibly loyal and curious people. That describes the way Keith approaches most of his storylines in the series.
5 How Did Fans Learn His Birth Date
During the run of the series, social media accounts for the show and Netflix periodically revealed the birthdays of the main characters. All of the paladins had their birthdays revealed on social media except for one. That one was Keith.
For some reason, his birthday never made it into the social media promotions of the show. Instead, it was first revealed in The Paladin’s Handbook. Some fans have debated whether or not the handbook should be considered canon since there are discrepancies between the book and information revealed in early interviews for the series, like the ages of the characters. Since it’s the only place his birthday was revealed though, we’ll consider this bit of information correct.
4 How Old Is Keith By The End Of The Series
Though Keith’s age was never explicitly stated in the show, The Paladin’s Handbook did label him as 18 to begin the series, which coincided with him being considered in his “late teens’ when the story began. Over the course of the series, however, Keith was the paladin who spent the most (literal) time in space, making him age differently than his teammates.
A year passed when Shiro returned to Earth, making Keith 19 at that point. He then spent two years in the Quantum Abyss, where time passed differently for him and his mother compared to the outside world. By the time season six ended, Keith was 21. That would make him close to 22 by the end of the series, and older than most of his teammates.
3 What Did His Mother Originally Want To Name Him
When Keith and Krolia got the chance to bond in the Quantum Abyss, he learned a lot about his parents. Their choice of names, for example, was very different. While his father’s choice of Keith won out, Krolia originally wanted to name him Yurak.
That choice didn’t just highlight a difference in cultures, but also provided a nod to an earlier version of the Voltron story. Yurak was actually the name of a character in the Defender Of The Universe series. The same character provided the basis for Sendak in Legendary Defender.
2 Was He Supposed To End Up With Allura
In Voltron: Legendary Defender, romance wasn’t really on too many characters’ radars. In fact, it wasn’t a focus for the production team either even though the ‘80s series saw all of the paladins develop feelings for Allura at different points.
Some fans expected Keith and Allura to eventually end up together because they did in previous versions of the story. In fact, he married her and became the King of her people in the animated series. For the new series, the writers went in a different direction.
1 How Is The Comic Book Version Of Keith Different
Nearly a decade before the new series debuted, Devil’s Due published a comic book series based on Voltron. The new storyline saw the group of potential paladins recruited by the military to track down Voltron.
In a lot of ways, Keith was very similar to his Voltron: Legendary Defender counterpart. He lost his parents, joined a military group, and was a loner. There were, however, a few differences. He was 26 and a reconnaissance specialist for the Marines. Keith also happened to be adept at kung fu thanks to his father training him before his death.