Last week, GMA7 began putting faces to the characters of “Voltes V Legacy,” the Kapuso network’s live-action remake of legendary Japanese super robot anime “Voltes V” from the 1970s. It is of course understandable that the casting reveals will start with the five young pilots of the Volt machines which would combine to form the titular robot. But the story of the show would not have been beloved without their opposite numbers, the Bozanian Empire. Their Earth invasion commanders were memorable even for being horned humanoid aliens who are arrogant, racist, slaving space conquerors. Two of these figures have actors revealed before the week’s end.

From GMA News, it is confirmed that Martin Del Rosario and Liezel Lopez will be portraying, respectively, Prince Zardoz and Zandra in the upcoming “Voltes V Legacy.” The former is the commander of the Bozanian Empire’s Earth invasion fleet, with a surprise (not really to longtime fans) connection to the inventor of the Voltes V robot and his sons who are among its pilots. The latter is a Bozanian scientist and the Prince’s aide-de-camp, who also secretly pines for him. They prosecute the invasion of Earth with Bozanian ruthlessness, unaware that the Empire has ulterior motives that might doom them.

As Prince Zardoz is a larger-than-life character in the original anime, chewing the scenery with his utter malevolence towards Earth coupled with undying loyalty to Bozania, it is natural to cast a young but veteran actor to bring him to life. Martin Del Rosario checks all these qualities thanks to an active showbiz career since 2007, and snippets of his audition show he has the Zardoz evil down pat.

Liezel Lopez is a “StarStruck season 6” contestant who has since figured in some of GMA7’s more SFX- and action-packed productions such as “Super Ma’am” and “Alyas Robinhood.” She actually has martial arts training in preparation for the role, something markedly different from Zandra who was strictly non-action in the anime.

These two join Voltes team cast members Miguel Tanfelix, Radson Flores, Matt Lozano, Raphael Landicho and Ysabel Ortega. For reference, there are still two more Bozanian commanders sent to Earth with Zardoz and Zandra (a third would not arrive until well into the story). “Voltes V Legacy” is directed by Mark A. Reyes, with visual effects done by Riot Inc.

Image: Philippine Entertainment Portal