For the last two and a half decades, fans all over the world have been celebrating the pop culture phenomenon ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’! After all these years, fans are still triumphantly shouting “It’s Morphin Time!” and carrying the franchise to new heights of popularity. While there have been numerous ‘Power Rangers’ iterations over the years, the series that seems to get the most love is still the original ‘Mighty Morphin’ era that introduced us to the series as a whole and brought us into this world of monsters, Megazords, and teenagers with attitude!
At The Great Philadelphia Comic Con 2018 this past weekend, we were able to reminisce a bit with ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ star Steve Cardenas! Steve came onboard the show in the second season where he took on the role of Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger after the departure of original Red Ranger Austin St. John. In his role as Rocky, Steve lead the team for a time as the Red Ranger and eventually traded in his Red ‘Mighty Morphin’ Ranger identity to become the Blue Zeo Ranger! In our exclusive interview, Steve talks about his time on the show and what it means to him now after all of these years. He also tells us a bit about some of his upcoming projects like ‘The Order’ and more! Check out our full exclusive interview with Steve Cardenas below!
Science Fiction: “Power Rangers” has been a pop culture phenomenon for twenty-five years now, how does it feel to be a hero, icon and role model for several generations of fans?
Steve Cardenas: Dude, it’s great man! It was great back then, but I just love the fact that all those kids are all grown up now and still have such a fondness for it! It’s just amazing to me.
SF: By the time you joined the series, it was already exploding with popularity. Was it ever intimidating to be a part of such a big project?
SC: Oh wow, yeah! I was very intimidated! I had no acting experience when I joined the show, so my everyday experience was “on the job” training for me. I was very uncertain of myself in the beginning for sure!
SF: What was it like to step into the shoes of the coveted role of the Red Ranger, and how did you make the role stand out as your own?
SC: There was really nothing I could do to stand out, you know? Especially without really having any acting skills! All I really had was my martial arts. I just had to hope I didn’t let too many people down. I was really nervous about filling those shoes!
SF: Of all the Zords your character had over the seasons, which one is your personal favorite?
SC: The Red Dragon! My very first one.
SF: What would you say is your favorite thing about having been a Power Ranger? Whether it’s a memory from your time making the show, or even just a moment with a fan that comes to mind in particular?
SC: There’s actually several things that come to mind. Obviously, doing the movie and filming that in Australia was amazing. Simply the day I got hired was amazing. How it all changed my life completely. Just doing these conventions and having people come up to me and tell me things like “hey man, you got me through a rough time in my childhood and I just wanted to say thank you for that”. That kind of stuff? I really appreciate it and that kind of stuff to me is always so good. To know I could do that for someone. I’m just happy to be a part of all of that!
SF: What can you tell us about your upcoming project “The Order”? What’s your character like?
SC: Well, I can’t really say anything about my character, because you don’t know who is a bad guy and who is a good guy going in. But ‘The Order’? It’s like a bunch of Power Rangers got together to do a movie, and it has nothing to do with ‘Power Rangers’ at all! But there is a lot of kick-ass, a lot of explosions, a lot of death, and a lot of cursing! Pretty much everything you would never expect from a Power Ranger at all! You’re going to see it in this movie!
SF: Are there any other projects you have coming up you can tell us about? What can Steve Cardenas fans expect to see next?
SC: I just filmed another movie called “The Enuattii” in Nashville last year. It should be coming out sometime this year, but I’m not exactly sure what platform yet. It’s like “Predator”, and I play like a corporate Blackwater type military character, carrying a saw-gun around all the time! It’s pretty crazy.
SF: If you had one thing to tell your fans, what would it be?
SC: Thank you all! Seriously! Twenty-five years?! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for still coming out and still showing up every time I come out to these conventions! Thank you!
Be sure to follow Steve Cardenas on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for all of the latest updates on all of his projects! And don’t forget to stay tuned to ScienceFiction.com for all the latest updates on ‘Power Rangers’ and ‘The Order’!