After a long wait, GMA-7’s live-action adaptation of Voltes V, titled Voltes V: Legacy, is finally coming to television.
REVIEW: Voltes V: Legacy–The Cinematic Experience lives up to hype as visual feast!
During the show’s media conference in April, it was finally announced that the show would air on May 8 on GMA Telebabad.
The show was first announced in 2020 with the teasers, featurettes, and mini-trailers to be aired every New Year countdown.
But the show was actually conceptualized as far back as 10 years ago, according to its director, Mark Reyes, during an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) and select media during a set visit in April 2022.
Direk Mark recalled in details that GMA-7 was then planning to do it as a movie.
He said, “I think around 2013 and I asked, I think it was Miss Lilybeth [Rasonable] pa nun, ‘Ma’am, what happened to Voltes V, I heard they are planning to do it?’
"[Sabi sa akin], 'Ay, they find it too ambitious, I don’t think we can pull it off so they decided to defer it.’
"Sabi ko, ‘Why ambitious?’ Yung computer effects daw, ganun ganun.”
Direk Mark said he so wanted to do the project that he decided to produce a pitch tape in 2014 with the help of the post-production company RIOT.
The tape sent to the GMA executives got them excited, but still no action was taken because, said Direk Mark, they found it “too difficult to pull off pa rin.”
The esteemed director, who also helmed the Kapuso ground-breaking shows T.G.I.S. and Encantadia, then asked permission from the bosses for him to show the tape to Telesuccess, the owner of the Voltes V franchise.
He recounted, “Mr. Larry Chan, the licenser, was so excited when he saw the pitch tape.
"He said, ‘I’ve been looking all over the world for someone who can pull that off, ikaw lang pala.’ And it’s all Pinoy made, so he got excited.
"Then I said ‘I’m excited to do this as a movie.’ From that move, that point on, nabalik yung usap kasi Mr. Chan went to GMA to parang, ‘Can we produce this as a movie.’
“So, at that point, management said, ‘If we are gonna do that, we have to do it as a series because...’ without telling me, of course, 'if it’s a series, we can cover the expenses more kasi it’s long-running and the return of investment will cover the cost.”
In 2015, Voltes V’s live-action adaptation got the green light of the bosses.
Negotiations went on for years, and it was only in 2018 that production and editing of computer graphics were started. In 2019, the sets were created.
Direk Mark said, “That’s how long the process is. It’s like doing a Hollywood film.
"When you talk about Hollywood film, you’re dealing with two hours. This is 16 weeks, this is 80 episodes of special effects, so talagang the process is very long.”
EVOLUTION OF THE CAST MEMBERS
The cast of Voltes V: Legacy was revealed in late 2020.
Kapuso homegrown actor Miguel Tanfelix was picked to play Steve Armstrong, the leader of the Voltes V pack. Radson Flores was chosen as Mark Gordon, Ysabel Ortega as Jamie Robinson, Matt Lozano as Big Bert, and Raphael Landicho as Little Jon.
Direk Mark said they took pains choosing the perfect cast, revealing some of the actors he considered in batches. The first ones included Dingdong Dantes and Dennis Trillo, while the second set had Ruru Madrid and Kylie Padilla in the roster.
He shared, “There were three batches already. The first batch was sila Dingdong Dantes. The second batch, sila Kylie, sina Ruru. Third batch na ito.
"Of course, those were speculation lang na if we were going to cast, these were the actors.
"Dennis Trillo was my choice for Zardoz at that time, and Dingdong was Steve, and then ngayon, Dennis is Ned Armstrong, ganun yung evolution of casting noon.”
“Iba’t-ibang batch na patanda na ng patanda. And then, ito nga, magic five. It was with a new batch.
"Like, si Kylie would have been a perfect Jamie Robinson because Kylie can do fights, right?”
HOW THE FINAL CAST WAS CHOSEN
How did he arrive at the final batch?
Direk Mark said, “When they started auditioning, Ysabel, I didn’t know who she was.
"When I found out that she was the daughter of Lito Lapid, ‘Lord, give her the DNA of an action star.’
"Lo and behold, she took training on her own and she’s a gymnast. And in the fight scenes, parang she has natural abilities, so I was like ‘Thank you, Lord. Pasok yon.’
“Mark has a typical look na chinito, you know na Japanese na he’s looking for the gun. Radson, I found in StarStruck pa lang.
"Nakita ko na siya na parang puwede ito as Mark Gordon. Lo and behold, he knows how to ride a horse. So, parang ganun.
“And then Matt Lozano, I know him, he lost weight already. He is big, he lost weight, e. Buti na lang, he’s a bit hefty.
"May heft pa siya when he auditioned. So, yun, pasok na yun.
"Tapos Miguel, he’s perfect for Steve, and then Little Jon, Si Raph na ang tagal na, lumaki na sa tagal ng pandemic, we have to adjust his costume.
“And then, Martin del Rosario. I don’t have any choice for Zardoz but Martin because of two things: one, he is a chameleon and his acting is very...He’s a thinking actor.
"So, I needed someone with depth with gravitas, so Martin is perfect. And then, he’s used to wigs. Some actors kasi, when you put on a wig, awkward acting.
"E, si Zardoz has to have that wig to cover his horse. So natural nga yung... si Martin, siya yung nagsasabi na ito yung magandang wig na ginamit namin sa Born Beautiful or something like that.
"He pointed out to us where to get the wigs. So ayun, everything fell into place, like I said, in God’s time.”
VETERAN CAST MEMBERS
Character and veteran actors Albert Martinez, Gabby Eigenmann, Liezel Lopez, Neil Ryan Sese, Carlo Gonzalez, and Epy Quizon also play important roles in the show.
Direk Mark said, “These other actors honestly have sacrificed a lot because they are committed to us and we kept so many delays, they have to pass up other projects. So, that’s how dedicated they are.
“I’m just glad that after this, makakabawi sila but they gave up projects for Voltes V, but they know how...
"I mean, sabi nga noong isang actor, ‘Direk, may gagawin ako isang project, hindi matatandaan yan, that’s gonna disappear in the air.
"Ang Voltes V, hindi makakalimutan.’”
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