“POWER RANGERS DINO FURY”
PREMIERES SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20 AT 8:00 A.M. (ET/PT)
ON NICKELODEON
NEW “DINO FURY” THEME SONG RELEASED
Hasbro, Inc., a global play and entertainment company, and Nickelodeon today (Feb. 12) unveiled the official theme song and opening titles for the highly-anticipated Power Rangers Dino Fury television series, premiering on Saturday, February 20, at 8 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon in the U.S. Adapted from the Japanese Super Sentai series Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, the 28th season of Power Rangers features morphinominal battle footage with an all-new cast of dynamic heroes, evil villains and imagination-defying monsters.
In Power Rangers Dino Fury, an army of powerful alien beings is unleashed on Earth threatening life as we know it, and a brand-new team of Power Rangers, fueled by the pre-historic power of the dinosaurs, are recruited to deal with the threat. The series features a vibrant cast, and Hasbro and Nickelodeon recently released all-new character details to get fans excited for what’s to come:
Russell Curry – Red Ranger “Zayto”
About: Zayto is an alien from the planet Rafkon. He has been on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs, frozen in stasis. After he is revived, he leads the Dino Fury Power Rangers in the hopes of stopping the evil forces that destroyed his planet from destroying Earth.
Dinosaur: Tyrannosaurus Rex
Weapon: Chromafury Saber/Dino Dagger
Gear: Dino Fury Morpher, Dino Fury Battle Belt, T-Rex Dino Fury Key
Zord: T-Rex Champion Zord
Kai Moya – Blue Ranger “Ollie”
About: Ollie is a confident, logical skeptic who always needs to prove he’s right and is never afraid to share his opinion. Growing up, he traveled the globe with his archaeologist mom, Dr. Akana. Ollie believes that everything can be proven or explained by science.
Dinosaur: Triceratops
Weapon: Chromafury Saber/Dino Dagger
Gear: Dino Fury Morpher, Dino Fury Battle Belt, Tricera Dino Fury Key
Zord: Tricera Blade Zord
Hunter Deno – Pink Ranger “Amelia”
About: A go-getting journalist with a passion for the paranormal, Amelia works at the internet media agency, BuzzBlast. She’s well known in Pine Ridge as the person to come to if anything “weird” happens. Her enthusiasm seeps into everything she does, much to the amusement of her friends and coworkers.
Dinosaur: Ankylosaurus
Weapon: Chromafury Saber/Dino Dagger
Gear: Dino Fury Morpher, Dino Fury Battle Belt, Ankylo Dino Fury Key
Zord: Ankylo Hammer Zord
Tessa Rao – Green Ranger “Izzy”
About: Izzy is a highly competitive and ambitious athlete. She pushes herself to the limits and never gives up, even when the stress is overwhelming. She’s close with her step-brother, Javi.
Dinosaur: Saber-toothed Tiger
Weapon: Chromafury Saber/Dino Dagger
Gear: Dino Fury Morpher, Dino Fury Battle Belt, Tiger Dino Fury Key
Zord: Tiger Claw Zord
Chance Perez – Black Ranger “Javi”
About: Javi is a free-spirited musician who can be quiet at times, focusing his energy on his creative process and artistic endeavors. Though he loves music, he can’t settle on any one style or instrument. His step-sister, Izzy, is his biggest supporter and the most important person in his life.
Dinosaur: Stegosaurus
Weapon: Chromafury Saber/Dino Dagger
Gear: Dino Fury Morpher, Dino Fury Battle Belt. Stego Dino Key
Zord: Stego Spike Zord
“For nearly 30 years, Power Rangers has brought humorous action-adventure entertainment to the screen, with positive messages and real-life lessons that parents value, like diversity, inclusion, self-discipline and teamwork,” said Executive Producer Simon Bennett. “Throughout the years, the brand has consistently delivered exciting new iterations while instilling these same core values, and it’s been an honor getting the opportunity to continue the legacy with Power Rangers Dino Fury. The work, planning and thoughtfulness put into this show from the entire cast and crew is truly outstanding. We have a number of exciting surprises sprinkled throughout the season, and I cannot wait for fans and kids to watch.”
Power Rangers is an iconic brand built on a heritage of great storytelling and merchandising. Launched in 1993 with the debut of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the franchise today includes movies, TV series, toys and role-play items inspired by Power Rangers.
For Power Rangers brand updates, follow @powerrangers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and @powerrangersofficial on YouTube.
ABOUT HASBRO
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play and Entertainment Experiences. From toys, games and consumer products to television, movies, digital gaming, live action, music, and virtual reality experiences, Hasbro connects to global audiences by bringing to life great innovations, stories and brands across established and inventive platforms. Hasbro’s iconic brands include NERF, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, BABY ALIVE, POWER RANGERS, PEPPA PIG and PJ MASKS, as well as premier partner brands. Through its global entertainment studio, eOne, Hasbro is building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Hasbro is committed to making the world a better place for all children and all families through corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Hasbro ranked among the 2020 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere Institute for the past nine years, and one of America’s Most JUST Companies by Forbes and JUST Capital for the past four years. We routinely share important business and brand updates on our Investor Relations website, Newsroom and social channels (@Hasbro on Twitter and Instagram, and @HasbroOfficial on Facebook.)
© 2020 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ABOUT NICKELODEON
Nickelodeon, now in its 41st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing, and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC).
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Hasbro Pulse | Fan First Friday: Power Rangers Livestream - Valentine's Day Special!!!
Visit www.hasbropulse.com for more info. (US & CAN only)
Subscribe to Hasbro Pulse! http://bit.ly/HASPULSE
Happy Fan First Friday!!!
We are back with another exciting Fan First Friday just for YOU, our amazing fans! This week’s exciting exclusive comes from your favourite color coordinated heroes, the Power Rangers! Expect franchise updates, some super cool product reveals and, of course, Dino Fury updates!!!!
From ComicBook.com:
Power Rangers Dino Fury Intro Sequence and Theme Song Revealed (Exclusive)
Power Rangers Dino Fury is almost here, but ahead of the big premiere, Hasbro revealed some new teases for the show during its latest Fan First Friday. We're happy to say that along with all the Ranger goodness during the event we have our own contribution to make to the festivities, as we can exclusively reveal the full opening title sequence for Power Rangers Dino Fury, which includes your first listen of the new theme song as well! The sequence includes Russell Curry's Zayto, Hunter Deno's Amelia, and Kai Moya's Ollie, and the sequence will be updated as new Rangers join the team throughout the season.
So far we know that the show will also feature Dino Fury Green (played by Tessa Rao) and Dino Fury Black (played by Chance Perez), and after that, well, who knows?
We've also got a slick new poster to show off for Dino Fury as well, and you can check that out in the image above.
The intro kicks off with a look at the new Zords and a much more upbeat theme compared to Beast Morphers. We then see some new footage of Zayto, Amelia, and Ollie, and we even get a look at Zayto in what appears to be a flashback sequence before he ends up frozen. We also get more footage of the Megazord to cap it all off, and you can check out the new intro in the video above.
You can also head right here to Hasbro's Fan First Friday presentation for even more Power Rangers reveals, and you can find the official description for Power Rangers Dino Fury below.
"When an army of powerful alien beings is unleashed on Earth threatening life as we know it, a brand-new team of Power Rangers, fueled by the pre-historic power of the dinosaurs, are recruited to deal with the threat."
Power Rangers Dino Fury is executive produced by Simon Bennett and stars Russell Curry (Red Ranger), Hunter Deno (Pink Ranger), Kai Moya (Blue Ranger), Chance Perez (Black Ranger), and Tessa Rao (Green Ranger).
Dino Fury premieres on Nickelodeon Saturday, February 20th.
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From CNET:
Power Rangers Dino Fury exec producer keeps the show morphing through the pandemic
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| The Power Rangers Dino Fury team and their Zords. |
Simon Bennett, the new executive producer for the Power Rangers' 28th season, details the journey toward producing the show amid lockdowns and how streaming has influenced the show's stories.
Power Rangers Dino Fury, debuting Saturday on Nickelodeon, will mark its 28th season with a new team, a new executive producer in Simon Bennett and a return to a dinosaur theme used in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and last seen in 2015's Dino Charge series. And like much of the film and TV industry, it's also the first season in production amidst the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ahead of the show's debut, we spoke with Bennett on the challenges of creating the long-running children's show under the potential of lockdown, running pre-production on the show virtually and about new plot elements that bring a BuzzFeed-like social media agency literally into the show.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
CNET: I know it's your first season as executive producer, so I wanted to start off by asking what was it like transitioning off just directing episodes of last season's Power Rangers Beast Morphers to taking over for this season.
Bennett: It's been challenging but really interesting. The level of detail required for this particular role in that I've got creative engagement at so many levels of the show from initial story concept to scripts to casting to direction to editing to visual effects to music to sound design, you know, right across the full spectrum of the show whereas obviously as a director I'm working with a three week lead in time, a particular set of scripts and a two-week shoot on a block of episodes. So the piece of the pie that I'm across is much bigger.
I did have a long transition period with Chip Lin who was in this role previously. We worked together probably 18 months before he returned to the States where I walked through his role with him and saw what was involved, but this isn't entirely new for me because I have worked in this creative producer showrunner role on New Zealand productions, including fantasy seasons like Maddigan's Quest and The Almighty Johnsons, long-running adult drama series like Outrageous Fortune and a long running soap Shortland Street.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, I imagine auditions for the new cast had to be conducted virtually. How did that process go?
Auditioning was all done remotely for the actors in the States. In New Zealand, we were able to audition in person because we don't have the same COVID situation here most of the time. We have been in and out of lockdown, for instance, I think from March to about July last year while we were still in the development phase we were in full lockdown, but we kept writing via Zoom.
But since the shoot started we've had a clear run with occasional alarms and minor lockdowns but we've pretty much been able to work business as usual, which I think has been great for the cast because they know what things are like back in the States and there's a real freedom here in terms of being able to go to restaurants and get out and about.
Historically the show shoots multiple episodes at once. Is that element continuing or do you have to stretch the filming length a bit to allow for safety protocols?
The shooting schedule is pretty much as it always has been. We shoot two or three episodes at a time and we have two units shooting: a main unit which is our drama unit and a second unit which is our action unit. It's quite a complex machine that's well-honed over 15 years of filming in New Zealand to enable us to maintain the output and the delivery schedule that we have to meet. We're producing three episodes every two weeks is the speed at which we are working, but given we have two full-time units that helps us explain how that's achievable.
We are kind of aware that should an outbreak happen, we might have to postpone shooting. In fact, right now we're on a three-day hiatus because of the three cases in Auckland, and the government has imposed a three-day lockdown in Auckland while they do contact tracing. So that's the first time it happened in a hundred days since we started shooting, but we are planned for this and expecting it because it would be very very unlikely that it didn't happen at some stage during the shoot.
The new Dino Fury series is adapting elements of the Japanese series Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger. Can you talk about that process, do you watch the full original series? And relatedly Dino Fury will the first time since the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers where a ranger who was originally male in the source series will be a woman, in this case the Green Ranger Izzy being played by Tessa Rao. Were there any challenges with that adaptation or is it straightforward since it's just a suit and voice acting?
It's always challenging adapting Sentai, and the way in which the show is made and written is that the writers watch each episode as it comes out because we don't get any kind of advanced preview of the Sentai episodes. So during the early stages of development on Dino Fury, every week we would watch that week's episode just after it's played in Japan and once it was available online to view and we would be analyzing that episode: what is the usable footage in here?
It's generally fights and Megazord fights, and it's usually only about three to four minutes per episode of Sentai footage that we use, but it's a springboard for our stories. Basically, the aesthetic of that particular Sentai season generates the world in which our season has set and also triggers ideas, but we don't follow the Sentai storylines at all.
Power Rangers is its own unique thing that incorporates a certain amount of high production value action footage that it would take a lot more days and a lot more resources if we were to try to shoot that material as well here. So it's a strange hybrid creature Power Rangers because it is derived from the visuals of Super Sentai, but it is its own particular story and world that there's no relation to the storylines of Sentai.
When you are writing at the same time as you were viewing the footage there is a certain edge of the seat factor because you don't know what's around the corner. You don't even know if, for instance, the character that we've come to call Void Knight, which is the purple-suited figure from Ryusoulger, we didn't know if that character was going to be a big bad across the entire Sentai season or not. We had to make that decision early on with Dino Fury because we just didn't know what was coming. So it is tricky for the writers particularly when they don't know what's coming next in Japan.
You asked as well about the gender switch of the Green Ranger, that really hasn't provided a lot of difficulties for us the reason we did it was we wanted more female representation on the show, and the Sentai didn't give us that, and it had been done historically in the past with the Power Rangers. The morphing process does interesting things to people's physiques, people can get shorter or taller, so they can switch gender physiques as well, and it's just something I think once it's established will not be too much of an issue for the audience. I'm really happy with our character and we've also across the board not just with the range of characters tried to address diversity in our casting and our representation.
While the show still airs linearly initially, longer tail shows find a home on streaming services. Do you have to keep that in mind as well, or is it important to hit those constraints?
We have to meet the Nickelodeon technical requirements for a commercial half-hour episode which is 22 minutes, 30 [seconds] as our actual duration and you know, there are restrictions like how long the open titles can be, how long the closing credits can be, what is the minimum act duration, so that structure is really strict and that is dictated by the commissioning network, which for us is Nickelodeon.
It does have a long life on streaming services obviously, but also Power Rangers sells to terrestrial networks around the world so I think they tend to have similar format expectations for half-hour episodes so the fact that we are meeting the Nickelodeon tech specs also helps as far as international sales are concerned. I don't know the details of this since I don't really have to deal with that aspect of the show, but I do know what the templates that we have to meet is.
I think creatively what the fact that so many people stream Power Rangers has done, historically there was a stipulation that each episode had to be standalone episodes that serial threads were discouraged. We could maybe do a two-parter at the beginning of a season and a two-parter for the finale, but apart from that every episode had to be standalone because our audience was very young and they were unable to watch one episode a week at a particular time, and they would forget stuff that was the expectation. But I think now that's relaxed a bit because I know with Dino Fury we are consciously weaving more character acts through the entire season as well as what we hope will be an engaging villains story thread that runs right through the entire season. So I'd say that that we are able to integrate more serial elements than we've historically been able to do.
Turning to the first episode's story, the set representing BuzzBlast, a clear parody of BuzzFeed, where Pink Ranger Amelia (Hunter Reno) works is a very developed set. Will this workspace become the new hangout for the cast?
It's basically driven by the fact that we have a certain number of studio sets in the show and we have to have a certain amount of studio material available for weather reasons and also because we can shoot more quickly in the studio than we can on location, so the traditional studio sets have been a monster base and a Ranger base and then what we call a social set which in Ninja Steel was a school and in Beast Morphers was a gym: those are large studio sets.
We didn't want to set this one in a high school because we felt it's been done before quite recently and we wanted to age up our teams so they were young adults rather than high school age teenagers. And we thought well what's a cool place that could be both a workplace and a hangout for our team characters and also can bring story through the door and the idea of a social media agency felt contemporary. It felt like something that kids would understand and it also was an environment that could tie in with what was happening with beasts, the monsters of the week as well as providing interesting other stories that can walk through the door because it's a quirky news agency. Other Power Rangers enter that world across the season, so it does become a regular.
And then there was another line that mentions Zords are seen in the news of this show's world, are we just demonstrating that Power Rangers are already known about to allow for faster introductions to the show's concepts?
That's correct. There's certain things that our characters know about Power Rangers historically, they are not the first ever team in this universe. In terms of the superfans, I think it's fair to say that this season takes place in the main universe rather than the Dino Charge universe where dinosaurs are still present. We've deliberately allowed interconnectivity with previous Power Ranger seasons that will influence story across the episodes but I can't say more than that.
Power Rangers Dino Fury will have its first episode premiere on Nickelodeon in the US on Saturday at 8 a.m. on both the east and west coasts.
Power Rangers is filmed often on three kinds of sets, a monster set, a Ranger set and a social-themed set.
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From SYFY WIRE:
POWER RANGERS: DINO FURY SHOWRUNNER EXPLAINS HOW THE SERIES IS BENDING THE RANGER 'RULES' FOR ALL AGES
Over 25 years after its debut, there's still nothing quite like the Power Rangers franchise. Save for a brief hiatus between 2009 and 2011, it has been a constant in the ever-changing landscape of American television. Channels, streaming services, and distribution houses have come and gone. Power Rangers? It's still here. There was that better-than-you-remember 2017 film, the wildly successful comic series by Boom! Studios that continues the adventures of the original Mighty Morphin team, and a whole new slate of shows and films in development from Jonathan Entwistle of I Am Not Okay With This fame. It's a great time to be a fan of Teenagers With Attitude Trademark Copyright All Rights Reserved.
Fancy reboots and comic book escapades aside, the franchise still lives on most prominently as a Saturday morning kids show. It's been airing on Nickelodeon since 2011 and is primed to welcome its next generation of multicolored spandex-clad heroes. Power Rangers: Dino Fury takes the franchise back to its prehistoric roots, welcoming a new team of Rangers who draw their power from ancient dinosaurs. Based on the Japanese show Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, it premieres this weekend on Nickelodeon.
Ahead of the premiere, SYFY WIRE had a chance to chat with series showrunner Simon Bennett. A veteran of theater, television, and film alike, he spoke to us about the unique process behind the production of a show like Power Rangers, what it's like having to create a show that will appeal to what is truly an all-ages audience, and how the "rules" for making Power Rangers are easing up with Dino Fury.
Let's talk a bit about the process through which you and your team create this show, which is pretty unconventional, to say the least. How does that affect your job as showrunner?
It really is. We reverse-engineer a Japanese show called Super Sentai and what the writers do is watch each episode and extract what's considered to be usable footage from each episode. It's usually fight footage when the Rangers are masked and Zord footage. Out of our 22-minute run time, two to four minutes is Japanese footage. One of the additional challenging things about this season is that we had no idea when we were writing where Ryusoulger was going. We were writing as it was still airing. So every week the writers and I would sit down and watch an episode and try to work out what we could use, how it might fit into our overall intended story arcs.
It's interesting you mention arcs because given the show's target audience and the length of the seasons, Power Rangers tends to be far more episodic than serialized.
We're trying to, mainly for the adult fans, inject more serial threads for our characters and for our villains this time around. That can provide intrigue and suspense and allow us to use cliffhanger devices. It keeps people guessing. If every episode wraps up the story tidily, there's not much telling about what's going to happen next. With Dino Fury we've deliberately worked to inject more of that into the season.
Going back to the Sentai footage for a moment, is it common practice during production for you guys to be writing the season as the source material is being aired? Past seasons have both directly adapted seasons of Sentai and pivoted from the story context of their source material entirely.
There's no set rule. There used to be more seasons in the bank we could draw on. The better ones of those have been utilized. I think what determines what makes for a good or bad season to adapt has to do with the "toyetic" elements. Obviously the sale of toys and integrating those toys into the show is an important part of how the show works. Also, we have to think about what is going to work for an American audience. There are culturally specific things about Sentai that may not translate so easily to an American audience. For instance, dinosaurs are universally popular with four- to six-year-olds, whereas trains? Not quite as much as dinosaurs.
In terms of how loyal to the stories we are, I know that in the past there have been more or less shot-for-shot recreations of Sentai seasons. Since I've been involved with the show, and really since Chip Lynn has been on board [as a writer and frequent executive producer of the franchise], the idea has been to develop a standalone and unique story and premise that's often quite different from the source material but still to integrate the fight footage into the show.
What Haim Saban came up with all those years ago was a formula that enabled a high volume of kids shows to be made relatively inexpensively compared to if all that material had to be original footage. The Megazord fights and big stunt sequences are the expensive parts of making an action-based show. That's why four minutes or so is always Japanese footage.
You mentioned incorporating more serialized storytelling into the show to appeal to adult fans. Power Rangers has always had a fanbase that encompasses all ages. I'm wondering if, over the last few years, the people who make this show have felt less pressure to appeal to older viewers since the ascent of the Boom! Studios comic series, which very much cater to an older audience? Because at the end of the day, this does have to be a show that appeals to kids.
I wouldn't say there's ever been pressure from within to age the show up. But, you know, the adult fans who may be watching the show and love Power Rangers are the most vocal critics of the show online. Even though in terms of size they're very much a niche audience compared to the kids the show is made for. I think those comics, fantastic as they are, serve a niche function compared to the audience of the show. That's just the nature of the medium and the size of the audience they reach.
I obviously would like for everyone who watches the show to love it. I don't like the show being hated. I don't like knowing that writers get hate mail or death threats. Everyone is trying to make a show that as many people as possible will enjoy.
That's a great point. Are there any specific parameters or rules in which you guys have to operate while making the show?
There are, yes, ones that I've sort of inherited [from Power Rangers creator] Haim Saban. When he came back to the franchise halfway through a series he felt the show wasn't hitting the right notes in order to capture the younger audience. The requirements became very specific. It had to tick a number of boxes. There had to be a strong moral core, a lesson, there had to be a moving scene full of heart, and there had to be two ground fights and a Megazord fight every episode. And there could be no serial threads. He believed very strongly that every episode had to work as a standalone. The only linked episodes that were allowed were two-part finales or maybe an Episode 1 and 2 of a season.
The other thing he was keen on was the idea of the comedy duo, which harked back to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. It's why both Ninja Steel and Beast Morphers had the comedy duo characters. They had to use a big pinch of slapstick because that sort of broad physical comedy appeals to younger viewers. So those are some of the rules to which the writers had to write. I felt that, quite unfairly amongst the adult online community, the writers — who are very clever people and very passionate about what they do — became blamed for stuff that was outside of their control.
Having said that, I think that those kinds of mandates have eased off with Dino Fury. We're able to do a lot more that I believe will appeal to the adult audience while maintaining the engagement of younger viewers. For example, we've been able to share the comedy around. There isn't a designated comedy character who will annoy the audience and distract from the Rangers' story. There's now comedy in the villains or the Rangers. It's all shared around. And it's comedy played more through character or dialogue rather than elaborate gag sequences. We've been encouraged to do that and I've really embraced it. It means we can be less predictable.
Speaking of serialized storytelling, you worked quite a bit on [long-running New Zealand soap opera] Shortland Street. I think part of why Power Rangers has been so successful to begin with is because of the way it incorporated soap opera elements at times. How has your time working on Shortland Street influenced or aided in your approach to making this show?
I think what Shortland Street taught me, and does teach everyone who works on it in any capacity very quickly because you're working on five episodes a week across the year, is story and character. The audiences' engagement with the characters is what makes a soap work. They have to care. They have to want to know what happens next. And in order to make the audience care, there have to be well-constructed stories that are derived from character rather than imposed on character. If there's anything I learned from working on it, it's that: how character can define story.
It's very useful stuff. I think a lot of people go from soap into other forms because the intensity of a serial drama like that and the volume of work that you have to produce, you know, if you're good at what you do it really hones your skills.
I can't let you go without asking who your favorite Power Ranger is.
The ones I'm working with at the moment. [Laughs.] It's more than my life is worth to name anyone else! I love the cast I'm working with at the moment and I really enjoyed the Beast Morphers actors as well. They're just nice people and completely committed to a grueling job. They never let it get them down.
In terms of the characters on screen, it's very hard for me to separate them from the actors. I'm at the craft end of the show so I can't, watching the episode, separate what I'm watching from what I know went into making it. I will never be able to watch the show as a viewer in that sense.
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From ComicBook.com:
Power Rangers Dino Fury Cast Breaks Down Their Rangers, Teases Season Changes, and More
Power Rangers Dino Fury's big premiere is right around the corner, and fans will have a chance to get to know all of the new Rangers throughout the season. The good news is you actually don't have to wait until tomorrow to get to know the Rangers a bit better, as ComicBook.com had the chance to talk to the awesome cast of Dino Fury, and you can check out our full interview in the video above! We talk to Russell Curry (Zayto), Hunter Deno (Amelia), Chance Perez (Javier), Tessa Rao (Izzy), and Kai Moya (Ollie) all about the show, their characters, and even some Marvel and Sesame Street, because really, why not?
Now that we have some details on who they are playing, we wanted to know their favorite part of their characters and the element that is nothing like them in real life.
"Oh man. I think it's easy for me because the thing I love about Zayto the most is the thing that I am least like," Curry said. "I think he's such strong leader and such a disciplined person. I feel like I can be pretty disciplined, but he takes it to a whole nother level man. And he's always cool-headed for the most part, he is able to find solutions very quickly without getting super emotional about things. And yeah, I just want to be more like Zayto in my regular life, from here on out."
"Okay. So I like most about Amelia is how optimistic she is," Deno said. "She seems to always try to find the good out of anyone and anything in any situation. And I feel like we're very alike on that. And the only thing I'd say that we're not alike is I'm just not obsessed with the paranormal. I love it, don't get me wrong. I'm just not obsessed with it. But besides that, we're pretty identical. So that one's a hard one."
"What I like about Ollie the most is that he's so sharp," Moya said. "He's sharp on everything. He gets things quickly. He's always the one to be like, Oh, I understand what's going on here. You know? And so he's really sharp with that. And he'll pick up on things very quickly, he's a quick learner. He's very into science. I am not. I avoided science at all costs. So that's where we're different."
"I'd say the thing I love most about Izzy is that she is so driven and focused and loves what she does, is so passionate about what she loves and just kind of keeps pushing forward and keeps pushing herself no matter what, and encourages others to do the same," Rao said. "I'm not quite as athletic as she is. I'm definitely not as athletic as she is. I do enjoy sports, but nowhere near as much as she does well."
Rao remembers a time early on where this definitely came into play, but wouldn't spill the beans just yet on what happened.
"Actually, the first thing, the first day that I had to shoot, I had to do something athletic that I swore was about 13 I'd never do again," Rao said. "I can't say. I can't say. I don't think I'm allowed to say yet. I don't think it's out there. But one day I will say what that is, but it was quite difficult."
"I feel like Javi and I are a lot of like," Perez said. "He's a musician, he's a little bit silly, but he gets to rise up to the occasion when the moment calls for it, which is really cool. Step up to the plate. So I think it's really fun playing that character because I feel like I can just be myself a lot of this time in front of the camera. So I really enjoy playing him."
As for the season itself, Curry thinks the tone of the show is going to surprise some people when they start watching the episodes. "I think that the overall tone and feel of the show is going to be a little bit different from past seasons," Curry said. "I don't think it's better or worse. I think that it's going to be a little bit noticeably different. I think it's going to be amazing. I'm probably biased, but I think that people are really going to dig it. Yeah, probably not. You're right. But yeah, people are really going to dig this different tone and vibe that we bring to it."
It must be a pretty surreal thing to play a Power Ranger, and the cast remembers one moment on the set that crystalized how beloved the franchise is.
"I'm pretty sure Tessa can agree with me on this one, one day we were about to wrap out and this dad had came up with his child and was like, we have been searching for you guys," Deno said. "We've done the research on where you guys are filming. We've been looking for you guys and we live down the road and you just happened to be here. His child was sick obviously, and he just really wanted to meet us and get to talk to us. He got a picture with us, and it was just a really cool moment that they had been searching for us for so long, and they just happened to stumble upon us. It was at the perfect moment because we were just about to leave, and it was very heartwarming."
"Yeah. It felt like it suddenly kind of ... I mean, I think I knew it, but I hadn't really felt it, of this moment of like, wow, this show is so much bigger than any of us individually," Rao said. "The story and the show is so much bigger than any of us individually. The story and the connection that it has with the people around the world. So many children, and not just children, but people that have grown up watching it and become adults and still really love the show and have so much passion for it. It's so much bigger than any of us, and it was so humbling and touching to know that someone who's dealing with quite a lot of stuff in their life, however old they are, could maybe get some relief and enjoyment out of the story that we're getting to tell. So that was amazing."
"It was one of the best reality checks. It was like, wow, we are the new Power Rangers," Deno said. "That's so weird, and so many people look up to us and everything, and it was just really cool that they had been searching for us and they finally found us."
Part of the reason the show is so beloved is that cross-generational fandom Deno Rao was referring to, and that actually brought up another franchise that has that same ability to cross divides for all ages. That would be Sesame Street, so we had to ask if they could have any Sesame Street character as their sidekick, who would it be and why? I started things off with the pick of Cookie Monster, because cookies are dope and so is he.
"You know what's so funny is when I read your question, I read the question and I immediately said Cookie Monster," Deno said. "And then I saw your response and I'm like, 'That's phenomenal." I was like, "Cookie Monster all day long. What?'"
"And Hunter also bakes amazing cookies. So they would be best friends," Curry said.
"Probably the Cookie Monster as well because then we could just share all the time," Kai said. "That's probably why, or Elmo. But Elmo just because he was my favorite when I was a kid. I remember Elmo. I'd like to have him around."
"I'm going to jump on the same bandwagon as the Cookie Monster, just because he's got the cookie and you got to get the cookie," Perez said. Now, if he's in his veggie phase, Perez is cool with that too. "It's definitely good. I make good vegan soup."
"So it's quite controversial when I say, I think I'd quite like to meet Oscar the Grouch," Rao said.
"Because you're both green," Curry asked. "Because we're both green," Rao confirmed.
"Also because I just find his negativity coming from him specifically so amusing," Rao said. "I don't know if it was a different form, if it was human form, I'd quite enjoy it as much. But I think there's something about him being in a trashcan and he's so cute and green. I just find it really cute and I feel like it would be fun to just kind of go around with him each day and hear his negativity."
"I was originally going to say Elmo because he was my favorite as a kid and he's red," Curry said. "Red's almost always been my favorite color except for a weird phase I had where it was silver. It didn't last long. But mine would actually be, this one's for my brother, Brad, Grover would be my guy because that was my brother's favorite growing up because Grover didn't get enough love. So I'd be there for Grover."
You can check out even more from our interview in the video above, and you can watch the Rangers. inaction when Power Rangers Dino Fury premieres on Nickelodeon Saturday, February 20th.
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Originally published: Friday, February 12, 2021.
H/T: @NickSchedules.
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