Here are the shout-outs found in Voltron: The Third Dimension.
- In one of the episodes of the series, the use of drones to pilot the robot lions instead of the Voltron Force is reminiscent of when, in Choujin Sentai Jetman, the Jetmen were grounded and replaced with the Neo-Jetmen.
- The drones are also reminiscent of the Dummy Plug System in Neon Genesis Evangelion, wherein the Eva unit can act independent of the pilot inside it care of the "dummy plug" Artificial Intelligence.
- It's also through this sequel that Keith, Lance, and Allura first had matching lion-themed uniforms to the color of their respective lions a la Super Sentai or Power Rangers.note
- Amalgamusnote seems like a shout-out to Braniac of Superman fame or even HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Its name comes from the root word "amalgam", which means a mixture or blend.
- "Dracotron", the dragon equivalent of Voltron, seems like a shout-out to Lo-Tron from the Fleet of Doom TV special. Or King Ghidorah from Godzilla. Or perhaps even Serpentera from the later seasons of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
- The American-original creation of "Stealth
Voltron" can be considered the Mid-Season Upgrade tropenote in action for a Western Animation series. It also helped start the more rounded design trend of Voltron in later series.- "Voltrex", a version of Voltron made of five dinosaurs, was the final toy released before the show and toy line was discontinued. Doesn't the concept sound familiar?
- The exploration of the idea that the Voltron Lions are sentient (which was only touched upon in Lion Force Voltron) is a shout-out to GoLion and its origin storynote .
