- GMA Network is now set to produce a Philippine live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese anime Voltes V
- This news was already making rounds last year
- Ruru Madrid was reported to be playing the male lead role
GMA Network is now set to produce a Philippine live-action adaptation of the popular 1977 Japanese animated series, Voltes V. Reports of an adaptation have been circulating since last year.
The super robot series is formally known as Chouednji (Super Electromagnetic) Machine Voltes Five. This first aired on TV Asahi in 1977 and was created by Saburo Yatsude, directed by Tadao Nagahama and produced by Yoshiyuki Tomino. Its story revolves around five young pilots on their quest to defend the Earth from the alien invaders called Boazanians.
This news came out in various Philippine newspapers including the widely-read tabloid Abante and it was reported that GMA Network star Mikee Quintos and Kyline Alcantara were going to star in the adaptation.
“May bagong series na gagawin si Mikee. Ito ay ang Philippine adaptation ng animated Japanese series na Voltes V. Isa sa makakasama niya ay si Kyline Alcantara,” Abante entertainment reporter Jun Nardo said in his column “I Know Better” last June 27, 2019.
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Last year, Philippine tabloid Pilipino Star Ngayon (PSN) also reported that GMA Network resident director Mark Reyes, who is known for previous projects like Encantadia and Mulawin The Movie, will head the project.
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Kapuso star Ruru Madrid was also reported by PSN to be one of the cast members of Voltes V live action and specifically will star in the lead role of Ken’ichi Go (Steve Armstrong), the Voltes V team leader.
The Abante reporter said the network giant is also planning to include the StarStruck Season 7 winner in the cast of the live-action series.
The other cast members and crucial details about the Philippine live adaption have yet to be announced.
The Voltes V franchise is under Telesuccess Productions, Inc. in the Philippines. Voltes V is a property of Toei Company Ltd. It was first aired on GMA in English on May 5, 1978.
However, on August 27, 1979, late President Ferdinand Marcos banned all robot shows including Voltes V via Interim Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (IBCMP) Memorandum-Circular No. 13-79 citing the shows’ “harmful effects on children.”
Fortunately in 1999, it was re-aired by GMA in the English and Tagalog dub.
In 2017, in celebration of the anime’s 40th anniversary, a new Tagalog dub of Voltes V returned to GMA with a celebrity cast that included Bea Binene, Derrick Monasterio, Jak Roberto, Hiro Peralta, and Ken Chan.
