A few weeks ago Scoop shared news about The Order, an upcoming action film project starring former Power Rangers actors. Currently in the preproduction phase, the cast and crew have created an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the movie and get the fans involved. Scoop spoke to David J. Fielding and David Yost (Zordon and Billy from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) about getting involved with the project, what fans should expect, and being open to the possibility of surprises.

Scoop: David Fielding, tell me about the process you and Karan Ashley went through from creating the concept to collaborating on the script.
David J. Fielding (DJF): When I first started doing the convention circuit Austin St. John had a number of projects that he was working on and because I’m a writer I said to him at some point, “If you need any help on anything let me know.” He said, “Sure.”

Karan has had this idea to get everybody back together for quite some time now. She was at a different convention with Austin and had mentioned to him that she wanted to get something going and Austin said, “Well you should talk to David because he’s a writer.” So, Karan sent me an email asking me if I’d be interested in trying to do something like this. I said, “Yes, of course.”

We started shooting emails back and forth, discussing the project. I got to hear her thoughts about what she wanted to do with it. I got very excited about it right away because what she wanted to do was to do something that was two or three steps away from what [Mighty Morphin Power Rangers] was and what everyone was used to. I write a lot of speculative fiction and stuff like that and I’m a big fan of action adventure films, so we were on the same page right from the beginning. At the beginning we had started talking about different takes and different concepts. Karan had an idea where all of the actors would involve these very elaborate cells of operations and these heists and that sort of thing. So, the first couple of ideas that we read through were in that vein and was a little bit more light-hearted and had a little bit more humor in it.

The more we got to talk about it, the more we got to see each other at conventions and were, sort of, putting together our cast wish list and stuff, we started to think that maybe it would be more of an Expendables type of story. It would be more dramatic – gearing toward that Expendables, Fast and the Furious type crowd – where it’s much more action oriented, a little bit more adult than people are used to seeing these actors in. So, that’s what we ended up settling on. Basically, we came up with this concept that we have this shadow ops team that operated without any definite supervision that would travel the globe and try to make sure that the balance of power was even across the globe. And how they always operated behind the scenes and then something happens in the story that causes a split between those members and so you have these people that are the elite of the elite, these spec ops people that are now fighting one another. It’s going to be very difficult to determine who’s going to be the best of the best.

Scoop: Did you envision certain actors for certain characters while you were writing the script?
DJF: We were definitely trying to keep the fans in mind. We wanted to use people that the fans would gravitate towards. Not necessarily in popularity but just in terms of familiarity. Trying to include everybody – it’s very difficult. We did have, in mind, our dream cast of what we wanted to do and I think we pretty much achieved that. Everybody that’s in the project right now is somebody that we wanted right from the get-go.

Scoop: You mentioned talking to Karan about getting Power Rangers actors together on one project. Had other Power Rangers cast members been talking about working together on a project like this?
DJF: Not myself, specifically, but I know that other Ranger actors had been approached in the past from other parties that had wanted to do some sort of Ranger-type project. Or getting a number of them together to do a film project. For whatever reason those projects never materialized. They fell apart at some point in the process. Either the funding didn’t come through or the script wasn’t good enough or any number of reasons.

So, I don’t think, you know, it’s anything that hasn’t been explored before. I think this is the first time it’s actually come together where everybody is working on it at the same time.

David Yost (DY): Yeah. I’ve had numerous fans pitch me movie stuff wanting everybody back together. I’ve had friends pitch me movie stuff, wanting everybody back together. It’s definitely been discussed for many years. I’ll say, five years for me, for sure. There’s been some ideas tossed around, but none that really stuck, or any that I thought would really be worth investing time in.

And then Karan and David wrote the script and I thought it was a very interesting concept, so when they asked me, of course, I’d be a fool to say no. So I said yes!

Scoop: David Fielding mentioned The Expendables and Fast and the Furious. Are there any other action movies you would compare The Order to?
DY: Hmmm [laughs] those are probably good examples. Some of the best. For me it’s interesting because it’s a team that was solidified at one point. They have a fraction within themselves and it sort of becomes a good versus evil story. It’s just really interesting and it’ll be more interesting when we get into the actual film and actually get into more of our characters and seeing how the character development plays out between the good side and the bad side. Answering your question, I don’t have a specific film to relate it to, I’m sorry. Just go with Mr. Fielding’s suggestions.

Scoop: What was the first meeting with the cast like?
DJF: Actually, I wasn’t there. I wish I could’ve been, but everybody was in California and I was in Texas, so I had to sort of sit on my hands and wait for Karan to email me. David was there and that was pretty awesome.

DY: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. You know, we all travel around to different conventions and get to see each other and all that kind of stuff. In the first meeting, I think there were twelve or maybe fourteen of us all together in one room. It was fun to discuss the project together. It was just neat to feel everybody’s excitement and to actually work on a project together, that we all get to be part of. We just had fun and we’ve had subsequent meetings since then. We’re already a Power Ranger family, we’re becoming more of a tight-knit Power Ranger family.

Scoop: Is the cast and crew completed or will more Power Rangers actors join the project?
DJF: I think that’s probably a better question for Karan, as she’s the executive producer, she’ll be making decisions like that. I’m not sure if I can really talk about stuff that’s been discussed offline. If something does happen, I’m sure we’ll make an announcement about that, along those lines, at some point.

DY: I would say be open to the possibility of more surprises.

Scoop: I figured as much.
DY: [laughs]

Scoop: David Yost, what was your initial reaction to hearing about the project?
DY: I was curious. I always struggle – oh this is going to get me in so much trouble – I struggle with violence, and so I had to make sure, for me, that the story resonates with me on a level that I can participate in it. So, I did take it seriously, and I did think about it before I agreed to join. But, I do like the concept and that’s why I got on board.

DJF: In the initial drafts of the script – Karan and I are both socially, consciously aware – there is a message in the script, I think, but it’s not overt, it’s nothing that’s going to hammer people in the head. But, I think there’s a message in the script about the consequences of violence and how we approach that in the world. I think that’s something that we’re going to refine moving forward.

Scoop: Aside from not actually being assassins, do you share any similarities with the characters you play?
DY: [laughs] For me, yeah, I mean there’s always…I think you kind of get placed for a role, or a role comes to you because there’s some kind of characteristic about you that resonates with the character that you’re playing. So, it doesn’t mean that you’re exactly like that person, but there’s definitely pieces of you that you have to draw upon to bring that character to life. So, my character is once again, I’ll call him the brains of the group. He’s more of the person that’s always been in the office, kind of running things from that distance, and now he’s actually out in the field. He really has to step up to the plate and prove himself capable of being out in the field as an agent.

DJF: That’s exactly right, yes.

Scoop: Will there be any inside jokes, Easter eggs, or nods to the Power Rangers TV shows?
DY: Always be open to the possibility of surprises.

DJF: Right, right, that’s the perfect answer. [laughs]

Scoop: I’m sure you’ve been asked a million times if you’re going to wear your Ranger colors.
DY: Yeah, this has sort of a post-apocalyptic feel. So, I don’t think we’ll be wearing bright colors. I don’t think I’m wearing blue – that I’m aware of.

Scoop: That would sort of take away from the momentum of the movie if someone jumps into frame in a neon pink outfit.
DY: Exactly.

Scoop: Have you started training for the fights and action sequences and if so, what are you doing?
DY: Uh, what are you trying to say?

DJF: [laughs] I know that a number of the actors have gone into some sort of physical regiment to try to get ready for stuff. I don’t know if we’ve actually slated any actual time to rehearse the fights. All that will come later, but there will be time dedicated to all of the physical stunts, fights, and stuff like that.

Scoop: When I spoke to Karan she mentioned that while working on the sizzle reel you were told, “Take thirty minutes, go over there and work on this fight scene.” Your director, David Wald, has plenty of stunt experience. Can you tell me about him?
DY: David Wald was my stunt double on Power Rangers, so I’m very fortunate to have had him as my double, because he always made me look good. His career has continued on and he’s obviously been a stunt man and now he’s directing and all that amazing stuff. He’s more than qualified and more than capable. He knows how to work the camera to get the right angles.

When you talk about how Karan’s saying, “You have this amount of time, go over here and work it out,” that’s sort of what Power Rangers was like. At least for my cast. When we first started we were filming all the time, we didn’t have time or the luxury to really have rehearsal days in terms of fights. So, we would show up to set and they would say, “Okay, you’ve got to do this, this, this, and this and that’s your fight.” We would just do it two or three times, rehearse it, then shoot it. And so, it was sort of like that in the sizzle reel. But, I know moving forward into the film we’re obviously going to take more time, because we want the fights to look as exceptional and perfect as possible.

DJF: There are a number of firefight sequences in the script, so that’s going to take a lot of time to rehearse and set up because, you know fighting with weapons is a lot different than doing some of the stuff that’s hand to hand. So that’s going to be a little bit more elaborate.

Scoop: Is the whole cast involved in the Indiegogo campaign?
DY: Karan has been really amazing about this whole process and she’s come up with a ton of amazing perks. More recently she’s opened it up for us, “Hey if you have a suggestion for a perk, talk to me about it and we’ll see what we can do.” I know Austin is trying to get a paintball perk out there so people can go play paintball with him, which maybe I should donate so I could go paintball him a couple of times.

DJF: [laughs]

DY: We’re definitely opening it up so we’re all definitely involved in the perks process. I’m now following people because people bought the perk to have us follow them on social media, so I’m following people. There’s hats, there’s the autographs. People want different things from different people and we’re all – the whole cast – is willing to do whatever it takes to make the Indiegogo campaign go as smoothly and awesomely as possible. We want the process to be fun for the people that are donating money for us, because we genuinely, genuinely from the bottom of our hearts appreciate that the fans are supporting us so strongly.

Scoop: Personally, I’m hoping as you move forward that there’ll be a movie poster for The Order, because the publicity stills have been so cool.
DJF: Yeah, I think we definitely need to have something like that at Power Morphicon. That would be great.

Scoop: The Power Rangers fans are a devoted group. Since the shows and movies were kid friendly have you or other cast members been concerned about showing this group in more adult fare?
DJF: Yeah, I have had a number of fans on Facebook express concern that it’s going to be not what they expect. Right from the get-go we are trying to do this for the fans. This is like the one time where they’re going to be able to see all of these people together at one time. But we also wanted to give the actors a chance to play against type, to be something a little bit more than what fans are used to. The concerns that have been expressed have been very mild. I think once everybody sees the end product, they’re going to be very excited about it.

DY: I think David’s pretty much answered it. Of course, as an actor, you want to play other characters. So, I’m excited to play something totally different than Billy. I know some fans will struggle with the fact, at first, I think, because they might be expecting to see us sort of like our Power Rangers characters and we’re not anything like that. We’ve tried to make it as clear as possible that this isn’t Power Rangers. It’s not going to be Power Rangers oriented. The common thread is that we all happen to be on Power Rangers and we want to make the movie for our fans so that they can see us in a different light and they can see us play different characters and hopefully they’ll…I don’t have any doubts that they’re going to be receptive to it and really enjoy the film that we put together.

Scoop: I’m already trying to guess who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil – any hints? Are you going to reveal that information?
DY: I would say just be open to the possibility of surprises.

DJF: [laughs] I think we need to make that a hashtag.

Scoop: I’ll put that in front of each of the answers.
DY: [laughs]

DJF: To just, sort of add a little bit of color to that, I don’t think I’m saying anything out of the ordinary when I say that everybody has secrets. That’s an element that takes place in the script. Everybody has a little bit of darkness to them at some point, so it’s a choice whether or not you allow that to come forward or you try to tame it. I think there’s an element of that in the script.

Scoop: Once you start principle filming how will you keep fans in the loop?
DJF: Well, other films have done videos from the set and promotional stuff, so I’m sure that will probably be worked into the whole process of filming, but those decisions are still resting in Karan’s camp. So she’s really the voice for all of that.  

Scoop: Do you have upcoming convention plans for the next few months?
DY: Absolutely. I’ll be in New York at Infinity Con next month. I’ll be at Power Morphicon. I’ll be in Ecuador. I’m going to be all over the place. Las Vegas is coming up. Lots of comic cons going on.

DJF: I’ll be at Power Morphicon in August and I’m waiting to hear back if I’m going to be anywhere else. Hopefully! That would be awesome. So far it’s just Morphicon.

Scoop: That’s all I have for you guys today. Is there any other fun stuff you’d like to share about the movie?
DY: I just think people are going to really enjoy it. I know that we’re all very excited to put it together, so I just can’t wait until we get to release it so everybody can be excited.

DJF: Yeah, I think everybody’s going to be really blown away by the work that a lot of the people are going to be doing. I think it’s something everybody should look forward to.

Scoop: I think it looks really cool. Just from the sizzle reel, the action looks so high energy and precise.
DJF: They want to release another trailer, a final trailer, in the next week or so. It’s going to be a little bit longer with some new footage. The fans should be excited for that too.

Scoop: Thank you guys so much, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.
DJF: You bet.

DY: Thank you!