The Cast Of ‘Power Rangers Megaforce’ Talks Historic Rangers And Scenic New Zealand [SDCC 2013]

We may be getting on in years around here, but there are still few things we like more than teenagers with attitudes -- and by that, we mean the Power Rangers. The newest season of the long-running American adaptation of Japan's color-coded Super Sentai series is set to reunite the show with Rangers from throughout its 20-year history, with the current Megaforce rangers teaming up with their predecessors to battle evil.

To find out more about what we can expect and what it's like to protect New Zealand, CA Senior Editor Caleb Goellner talked to Azim Rizk, Andrew Grey, Ciara Hanna, John Mark Loudermilk and Christina Masterson about the show.

ComicsAlliance: This is your first time here for the show. Have any of you been to Comic-Con previously?

Christina Masterson: To Comic-Con? No.

Azim Rizk: Not to the international one.

Andrew Grey: I went to Phoenix Comic-Con.

CM: Oh, you have?

CA: So you're familiar with everything that goes on here?

AR: It was hot. [Laughs]

CA: You film in New Zealand, though. Do you miss it right now?

AG: We had some deja-vu, actually. Driving from the restaurant yesterday and I was like, this kind of reminds me of New Zealand, with the beautiful weather.

Ciara Hanna: It's gorgeous there.

CA: So the new season is kind of a celebration season of previous shows. Do any of you have a favorite Ranger, or a favorite season from before your time on the show?

AR: [Looking over his shoulder at Jason David Frank, the original Green Ranger] Well, there was this one cool guy…

CH: I really liked the Red Ranger. I liked In Space and Mighty Morphin, those were my two favorite ones.

CM: I grew up watching Mighty Morphin. My favorite was Kimberly.

CA: That worked out, didn't it? You guys do these press things, you get to meet other actors, but on your show, you get to meet Rangers from previous seasons and do full episodes. Was there anyone you met that made you geek out a little bit?

AR: For me, it was the whole process, because there's so many of them. I don't know if you've seen any of the footage of the legendary battles, but it's a lot of Rangers. You stand there and you look at the magnitude of the entire episode, and it's pretty intense. It's Mega!

CA: This guy with the trademarks! One of the interesting things about the Power Rangers is that half the time you're on camera, and the other half you're in the recording booth matching up the footage. What do you have the most fun with?

AG: The choreography. Just working on set with everybody.

CH: That's the best, always. Physically doing it. Nothing beats that.

John Mark Loudermilk: Yeah.

AR: The locations. We'll be out on top of a mountain.

AG: The black sand beach!

JML: Or Piha. The beaches are gorgeous.

CA: When you're out filming on the landscape, do you ever just take your helmet off and go "Earth is worth protecting, guys."

CH: [Laughs] Exactly!

JML: All the time!

CA: Maybe you could have a warrior poet episode, like "Why we gotta fight?"

AG: When we landed, I came back to Los Angeles and thought "now I want to be Captain Planet and help out LA a little bit."

CA: Your powers combine in a different way, with giant robots. No rings, but you got it on lock. The other thing I like is that over in New Zealand, it's an island, and the crew is often celebrated for basically making anything out of nothing. The props, the sets. What's it like when you're getting ready to do your stuff, watching everyone get ready to shoot?

AG: They're very organized.

AR: It's the same crew that worked on Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and Avatar. They're huge.

CM: They're amazing to work with.

JML: Yeah, they are definitely the backbone of everything we do down there.

CM: There's a lot of support.

AR: If the script says we're going to eat a bowl of salad, they bring a tub of it.

AG: A five-gallon bucket!

CA: Is there anything you're looking forward to that you haven't shot yet?

CH: We've shot it.

AR: We've wrapped principal photography.

CA: Is there anything fans haven't seen that you're excited about?

CM: Everything!

AG: The whole second season.

CA: Okay, the last thing, to kind of wrap it up, a lot of fans of the US show are pretty familiar with the Japanese Super Sentai shows. Do you guys try to get familiar with any of that before you started shooting?

CH: Oh, definitely.

JML: I watched all of it, yeah.

CA: Do they just provide you with DVDs?

AR: Yeah, you got it. Basically half your character is already shot, you know? You've got to get a part of who you are when the helmet's off from what already exists.

CM: They did a great job of editing, so it's amazing to watch it and see what they've created. They've been around for 36 years, so they know what they're doing.

CA: Thanks for talking to us guys, have an awesome con, and…

ALL: Go Go Megaforce!